Preservation
by Nispedana
Summary: AU. Fem! Ryoma. When a certain bocchama transfers to Rikkaidai with his vertically-challenged bodyguard... how can things possibly change?
1. Arrival

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**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I own the Prince of Tennis Characters and Techniques.

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**...**

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**CHAPTER 1: Arrival**

RIKKAIDAI HIGH

Another wonderful day it was in the Kanagawa prefecture. The birds were chirping happily, the leaves rustling along with the cool and gentle breeze of the wind. It was an especially perfect day for a new start, so to speak, and luckily it was the first day of classes as well.

Could it be a sign?

_Pop!_

A red-headed boy's gum bubble popped covering his mouth. He nonchalantly sucked it in and returned to chewing the gooey substance. His companion, a tanned bald-headed foreigner sighed in disapproval.

"That's disgusting, Marui."

The red-head pouted. "Don't ruin my good day, Jackal." He muttered and blew another bubble. Jackal shook his head and soon felt a greeting hand on his shoulder.

"Yo."

"Yagyuu." Jackal called the renowned gentleman in acknowledgement. Marui held his hand up for a greeting and they walked deeper within the school grounds, dismissing the stares that directed to them from time to time.

They soon saw two of their other friends a.k.a. teammates who were standing by the water fountain ignoring, too, the stares they were all too used to receive. The regulars weren't 'super-star' famous, but they were definitely well-known. Their innate attractive personalities and their development- due to being winners and due to the people that they surrounded themselves with- imposed something heavy yet admirable to everyone's eyes.

"Sanada, Yanagi." He called the pair and all of them stood there for a short chat before proceeding to their respective classrooms. It was unfortunate that club activities were prohibited during the first day of classes, otherwise all of them would have met in the tennis courts. Probably with a few friendly matches to make their day.

"Kya~ It's the Tennis team!" It seemed that a few of the thick-skinned people had arrived in school as well.

"Yagyuu-senpai!"

"Niou-san~!"

"Kya~! Marui-kun!"

Jackal sighed. "As popular as always?"

"You're popular to in the school, y'know. Just not next to me." Marui grinned.

"A few's missing though…"

"Niou-san's not there." A random guy commented and the few spectators nodded. "And..."

"That Sophomore..." his friend, another random guy, cut him off. "Kirihara, right?"

"I wish he was here..." a brunette commented from behind them. The guy shook his head, recalling how bloody pompous the boy was.

"Naw. He's an eyesore."

And then he felt a weird, shivering, presence from behind him.

"What did you say?"

"Eek!" He paled. "K-Kirihara!"

The boy glared at him and soon they were eye-to-eye. Everyone else kept their distance and watched it in a mix of anxiety and amusement.

Sanada, though, was having a headache. He massaged his forehead in an attempt to calm it down. He stared at his teammate who was causing all these trouble.

"Niou."

Everyone gaped at 'Kirihara'. And seeing everyone's amusing reaction, Niou chuckled and decided to stop his games. "Hai~" he said, and took off his wig. And mask.

_Where did he even get that mask?_

But Niou, unfortunately, even with his little antic did not remain in the spotlight.

"Kyaa! Sanada-senpai~!"

"He could tell?"

"Admirable!"

Niou sighed. He did not get why this stoic person was more popular than he was. But oh well... being popular was only important to him because it guaranteed very amusing reactions from many people- and that's that. So in the end, he just shrugged and grouped himself with the others.

Together, the Rikkaidai Tennis regulars made most of the passerby gape shamelessly in awe.

All of them truly had their own unique and imposing personalities. Combined with the tennis team's reputation and talents- everybody admired them. Even Kirihara, albeit most wouldn't admit it. He wasn't even there, anyway.

Sanada looked at his clock, and then tilted his head to look at his teammates. Everyone stiffened.

"Let's go." he said, and his team nodded.

"Hai! Buchou."

**…**

_Shit_

"I am _so _going to be late!" A certain sea-weed head ran towards his school, holding his bag under his armpit in his scurry. He heard that blasted bell ring and he dashed even faster.

It was then that he heard a car stop behind him, right in front of the gate he just passed through. He instinctively turned his head around and saw a black limousine. He couldn't help but stop his tracks and completely turned around, albeit not bothering to make his observation inconspicuous.

He watched the door open and a pretty boy with greenish-black hair go down the car. He looked extremely formal and he did not even bother acknowledging Kirihara's presence even when he was gaping at him so openly.

The mysterious boy then stood outside the limo and, as if on cue, another person came out.

Kirihara blinked.

It was a very beautiful girl with blue hair. She was as pale as snow and Kirihara looked down for more descriptions.

His eyes twitched.

Scratch that: the 'girl' was a friggin' _guy_!

Kirihara let out a deep breath and shrugged. It was normal of him to admire a girl's beauty (assuming she looked like an angel) and then shrug it off completely forgetting about the girl a minute later. Obviously, this quote-and-quote 'guy' wouldn't be any different.

The androgynous boy soon walked past him, giving him a polite smile. He got a tad flustered since the boy seriously emitted that extremely 'sophisticated' aura around him. It was like being a mere servant getting smiled at by a… prince?

Kirihara did not like the humbling experience. For most part anyway. Unlike Sanada-buchou or his other senpais, he didn't know this person well enough to say that he deserved his respect.

He realized he'd rather not. There was too many people in that school that he already (but begrudgingly) looked up to- people he _would_ defeat someday.

"Mada Mada Dane." came out-of-nowhere. It was from that other boy and he was looking at him in a mix of guardedness and _pompousness._

Kirihara's eyes twitched and gestured to glare. _'Impertitent little-'  
_

But then his emerald orbs met his golden ones. And for that moment he lost his voice. Not to mention his breath.

The boy though, seeing that he wouldn't say anything else, apathetically turned away from him and followed the demure 'prince'. He could not help but stare at their fleeting figures. Was that little kid a follower of sorts? The fact that he never tried to walk side-by-side, maintaining a good distance… and seeming to accompany the bluenette wherever he went… Kirihara couldn't help but get the feeling that their relationship was like that.

It didn't take long for the two to enter the building though, and he cringed.

Kirihara realized a tad too late that he was… well, late.

He cursed.

_Darn it_.

* * *

PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE

The principal and all of his staff welcomed the new-comer in anxiety. It was just that their nervous states were replaced with an ogling atmosphere when they saw them. Those two new students were beyond good-looking. Their sophisticated auras, albeit in different ways, were also hard to miss.

The secretary ushered them in to a very expensive and basically unused seat reserved in the principal's office. The taller boy sat in front of the lean old man's desk, while the smaller one ignored the other chair and stood slightly behind the other as if it was the most natural thing to do.

The principal knew, of course, that in _their_ world- it truly was.

"Yukimura-sama." He smiled, classically resting his chin on his hands as his elbows supported his upper weight. The gesture gave him the stereotypical unreadable old man aura that he actually was. "Welcome back to Japan."

"Hai, Hanamura-sensei. I missed this country, very much. But England had been good to us, wasn't it Ryoma-kun?" He turned his head slightly, but didn't look at the other boy. The other boy remained impassive.

"Hai. Seiichi-sama."

Hanamura observed the two kids. The typical bodyguard/butler-master interaction during the early ages. It was kind of impressive to see such relationship at this age, but nevertheless felt that it was somehow different. Experience by old age told him there was something… more behind those facades the two children wore.

But, obviously, it shouldn't be one of his concerns at the moment. His main concern was, well… , making the bocchama feel comfortable. It was, after all, well-known that his parents had started their influence in England. And in these past few years, they became powerful to the point that they were the first Asians to be so close with the Queen.

Hence, to un-satisfy this mild-looking boy could get quite… troublesome.

He looked at his bodyguard. "We had a request that you be entered the same year as Yukimura-sama. You are only 16. Is that alright?"

"I do not see why not." The boy said coldly -offended- and the man mentally thanked the heavens he was given enough veins not to shiver under the young boy's glare.

"Ha-ha…" The bluenette intervened, softening the tense atmosphere. "Ryoma had been home-schooled like I was. I can assure you he would be able to follow the curriculum without difficulty."

"I…see…" he said, certainly feeling rather imprisoned being in the same room as these two kids. "That's good to hear."

And with that, he cleared his throat and stood up.

"Well, in any case." He smiled politically. "Welcome to Rikkaidai High."

* * *

3-A

Inside a certain classroom on the building's top floor was _silence_. Classes had just started when a staff member knocked, calling their homeroom teacher out. Soon, the woman went back in accompanied by two late-comers. Everyone had already introduced themselves earlier, she said as she watched them stand in front of lass, so 'maybe' they had to introduce themselves like transfer students did.

"You don't have to though!" Their teacher smiled anxiously (like a disclaimer of sorts), alerting the senses of two analytical boys who occupied a back row seats.

It was then that they heard a low, quiet, chuckle. "No, Yamato-sensei. We will introduce ourselves." the blue-haired boy smiled, making everyone ogle at him.

"My name is Yukimura Seichi." he said, and a few more squeals were heard.

"Pretty~!"

"I think he's a guy, though…"

"Who's the other guy?"

"Echizen Ryoma."

"Kya!" Another batch of girls _tried_ to stifle their fangirl reflexes. It was no use though, obviously. "They're both my type!" A girl whispered but Ryoma sighed, as he heard. He then met a bespectacled boy's eyes. He seemed to be analyzing his master.

"Hm… Yukimura… sounds familiar."

His seatmate, a person with a similar aura with him, nodded. "I think I heard of that, too."

_Silence_

Yanagi rarely commented on such trivial things.

And so, everyone stared at the two kids- ready to satisfy their curiosities to their heart's contents.

But the teacher noted that both kids were extremely quiet- so she deduced they'd rather not be questioned in front of class. So she clapped her hand , silenced the class, and lead the two to their respective seats.

She placed the raven-haired boy at the last row, by the corner, which his type would probably like. While the bluenette on a column near the window but on a middle row.

She asked them if their seats were alright and they nodded. She could not help but sigh in relief.

Yamato forced herself to ignore Yanagi and Yagyuu's curious stares.

* * *

Echizen Ryoma stared blankly at the window, shifting her gaze towards her master from time to time. And then to the people who were doing the same thing. It was her job, after all, to protect her master. To make sure no one planned on hurting him.

Her eyes ended back to him again. He was really so… fragile, to the point that even if it wasn't her job to guard him- she probably would have done so all the same. And... albeit it was understandable that most people would get the impression of Seichi being weak, she already saw so many sides of him. The boy was even an athlete! So she didn't get why she couldn't shake that impression of him off even when they had known each other for so long.

She sighed. There she was again, thinking of trivial things. She needed to focus on protecting him and that alone. And that was what she had done- perfectly.

But these past few years, her job became more and more difficult. She was, after all, growing weaker- thanks to her accursed female body that nobody but a chosen few were even aware she had.

She looked at him again. She wondered if he knew- how her job was becoming harder. Of course he didn't- otherwise, they would have replaced her already. She_ did_ train hard so that even the most critical eyes would not catch it- especially her being female.

_Besides_…, she mused with a hint of sadness in her chest, _hadn't anyone noticed?_

Yukimura Seichi had never even looked at her.

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**END OF CHAPTER 1**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER 2: Home**

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**I would love to read what you thought! :D  
Checking those lovely boxes would be deeply appreciated, as well. **


	2. Meeting the Regulars

**Thanks guys! Especially to those who reviewed, fav'ed, C2d, and subscribed this. And I think this'll be updated a little faster than 'Sea' after all... XD  
**

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I own the Prince of Tennis Characters and Techniques.

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**…**

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**CHAPTER 2: Meeting the Rikkai Regulars**

3-A

_Riiiing_

The bell rang, signalling that it was their recess. As soon as the professor went out the door, the students stood and basically ogled Ryoma and Seichi. But most went to Seichi, unsurprisingly, since a few people finally recognized who he was- and did not bother hiding it.

"Yukimura! Are you related to that Japanese business tycoon based in England?" A hyperactive lad asked Seichi really shamelessly, but the trained Yukimura only smiled.

"He's my father."

Impressed 'OH!'s echoed within in the room, and Ryoma sighed and proceeded looking outside the window. She ignored the few girls (many of which couldn't even go near Seichi due to his popularity) who were pushing each other to try and approach_ her_.

She abruptly stood up, making them flinch. "E-Echizen-san?"

"I'll go get a drink." She stated dismissively, and walked away.

Then she paused and shifted her gaze to Seichi. _'Maybe he'd want one, as well.'_ But she saw a few girls offering him a drink already. She tilted her head.

'_Did he ask for one?'_ She wondered pretty sure she never heard him say anything (she could recognize his voice anywhere) but seeing he was already being taken of (and no hostile atmosphere sensed whatsoever), she shrugged and headed to wherever she was going before. At the door, she saw those two boys from before that really stood out. They were just sitting in their seats, passively staring at her. She looked at the alternatively, and they to her.

She sighed. "Where's the nearest vending machine?"

It was the one with eternally closed eyes who answered, monotonously."Out the door. Left. 10 meters."

"Domo."

*Barely a minute later*

_Tap Step Tap_

Ryoma sighed (again). "Are you following me?"

Normally she wouldn't say anything and just ignore these two. But there was something about them that shouted 'we're observing you'.

_Bloody Bastards_

"We're going to get drinks ourselves." The bespectacled guy, who politely introduced himself as Yagyuu, stated as a matter-of-factly.

"Hm." She shrugged (well, sort of) and headed to the said vending machine.

_Step Step Step_

Ryoma twitched. On their way, they met a few people who were running towards their classroom. She heard about them muttering excitedly about a famous kid transferring in and she shook her head in disapproval at how quickly gossip spread.

"90% chance that the observers will increase by two folds by the Lunch time." She twitched. Seichi was used to attention, but they _were_ home-schooled for the past 2 years. She'd have to ask him what he'd want to do.

"It is interesting that we are receiving much less attention than we used to get." It was the guy who said the percentages. She suddenly found it odd that she believed him so quickly.

"I'm surprised you cared." She said, semi-still thinking about her last train of thought.

"I don't. I just didn't think it would happen."

Yagyuu smirked. "Touche."

It was then that they simultaneously stared at the young boy, who seemed to be oblivious that he was the one they were speaking about. They were used at people staring at them as they passed the hallway, it was just that the attention was mostly on him. And they didn't think it was because of his height.

_Speaking of heights…_

"Pardon the rude implications of my question, but are you our age?"

Ryoma looked at him, soon stopping by the vending machine. "No."

"I see…" Yagyuu said but didn't ask any further questions. The boy then shifted his gaze towards his companion, who had been silent for a few steps prior- not that it was out of normalcy, but this kid _was_ quite interesting. Yagyuu thought Yanagi was looking for ways to get his data.

And he soon realized that Yanagi really _was._ But it seemed like the boy noticed it as well.

"What is with you?"

"Hm?"

"It's disconcerting to observe people like that, you know." Ryoma said guardedly.

"You noticed?" Yanagi voiced out, impressed. It wasn't everyday his inconspicuous analyses were discovered. _He wondered why the boy did…_

"What is your relationship with the bocchan?" He asked bluntly, sensing it would answer his question. To his surprise, it was answered pretty easily.

"I'm his bodyguard." The boy said straight-forwardly and whipped his head towards the machine. The boy's eyebrows met at the sight of the options. "I have never seen these drinks before…"

Yagyuu looked at him and sighed. "What types of drinks do you like in England?" She answered 'juice'.

"I suggest Ponta, then." Yanagi said out-of-nowhere. Surprising him. Yagyuu was about to suggest the same thing, though. So he shrugged in the end, and a minute later they got themselves their respective drinks. He took a cocoa, while Yanagi drank tea.

It was then that the boy's expression suddenly changed. Echizen seemed to have had a pleasant surprise with his new drink, but he was quick to hide it. They weren't really taken aback, since they too were quick to compose themselves. It was just that the boy looking pleased got kind of engraved in their heads…

The raven-haired boy stared at them basically for staring at _him_. "Why are you interviewing me, again?"

"We found both of you interesting characters." Yagyuu initiated. "But Yukimura was too approachable that _we_ couldn't approach him. We decided to deal with you instead."

"Ah." Ryoma puffed. Now that he mentioned her master, her line of thought returned to what might happen later at lunch. She paused and stared at Yanagi.

"Is your data accurate?"

"Hai."

Yagyuu stared at the boy's pondering stance. And being the 'gentleman' that he was, even to fellow men, he smiled and offered her his help.

"What could be bothering you?"

"My boss. I don't think he'd like that much attention." He said. "Who would, anyway?"

"Marui and Kirihara would."

"Who?"

"Our teammates." Yanagi said, interrupting Yagyuu yet again (not that it mattered, but still).

Yagyuu cleared his throat, a little amused. "Would you like to come with us this lunch? We eat at a relatively private space."

He stared at them in comprehension. And after a few long seconds of thinking, he finally nodded. "He'd like that."

And they returned to their respective classrooms.

* * *

RIKKAI HIGH GREEN HOUSE, Lunch

At the edge of school, existed a beautiful garden next to the green house used for academic purposes. Both were donated by Yagyuu's family so they were free to use either one. But since the gardens were also used by the gardening club, they always ate in the green house instead- which was (unofficially) reserved for them during lunch.

But despite the beautiful naturalistic environment inside, the interior was teeming with unsophistication.

"LET **THAT** CAKE _GO_." Marui gritted his teeth and glared at his raven-haired Kohai. Kirihara grinned and held the cake up, using the marble seating as a standing platform.

Marui frowned and attacked him. Kirihara was quick so he managed to avoid him, skilfully running across the thin marble seating.

But then the door opened, revealing two of their senpais… and a very familiar-looking bluenette.

"I-It's you!" Kirihara exclaimed pointing the hand with the cake to him, soon letting it fall to the ground. Marui soon found his head in the floor in an attempt to catch it.

"Shit."

Marui was turning redder than his head.

Yukimura though, who seemed oblivious to what happened, tilted his head in feign innocence and looked at Kirihara. "Pardon?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember me now, princess."

"Now, Kirihara, don't be rude." Yagyuu's glasses glimmered making Kirihara shiver. There was something about the gentleman being embarrassed with his antics in front of a guest.

"This is Yukimura Seichi." Was all he said, coolly, but Kirihara knew he might as well see hell. But being who he was, that haughty attitude would rather not falter during the all-important introduction.

"Kirihara. Kirihara Akaya. The future number one player in Jap-"

He was cut off by an abrupt, and intense, burning person behind him.

"_KIRIHARA_!"

_EEK!_

"M-Marui-senpai! Calm _down_!"

"H-How can I calm down you freaking seaweed brain!?" He yelled, and _strangled _him. As a crime of passion took place, Marui turned to a certain direction by coincidence. Marui immediately felt silent and his hold on Kirihara softened considerably.

"Pretty…" he voiced out loud, blushing. Most of them could not help but feel embarrassed for the cake-lover.

But mostly they felt excited… on how he was going to react once he found out.

"Senpai." Kirihara grinned sheepishly, about to tell him. When he felt huge hands cover his mouth. His eyes twitched and looked at his silver-headed senpai.

"Quiet." Niou said slyly. "You don't want him to attack you, right? You forget his mood before this."

Kirihara gulped.

But his nervousness transformed to well…, deviousness, when Niou whispered something interesting.

A second later _both_ of them were whispering suspicious things on Marui's ears, making him pump up in anticipation.

"R-Really?"

"Yeah."

"What did you say?" Yagyuu's glasses shimmered again, while the Yanagi remained silent- interested on how much data he would get. Jackal just sighed and returned to staring blankly at the plants.

But before they knew it, Marui was in front of Yukimura blushing like hell. Yagyuu sighed. They probably told him he was single (and looking for a lover) or something…

"Ojousama, I am Marui Bunta. I-It's a pleasure to meet you." He stuttered. They just knew he would not look at the "lady's" chest area and even when he did, his brain would probably not register it.

He was head-over-heels.

Yukimura though, remained admiringly calm and smiled… holding Marui's hand.

The boy flushed like hell, while the others stared in anticipation. Even Jackal, but hell he'd admit that.

"I-I-I-" But he was cut off… by Yukimura placing his hand on his _chest_.

"_Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"_

"See?" the man smiled, and Yagyuu couldn't help but feel the sadism behind it. The move somehow reminded him of the odd antics of Seigaku's Fuji Syusuke.

He smirked at the events, so he didn't notice that Yukimura was more annoyed than he anticipated. He didn't notice since the atmosphere about him was the same for quite a while now. Looking closely, he realized that the boucchama was _not_ in a good mood even before Marui's rude confession.

_Speaking of Marui..._

"O-Ojouchan! What c-could this _mean_?"

"It means you're gay." The bluenette smiled, somewhat sending shivers into a their spines. Marui, though, interpreted it differently.

"I am?"

Yukimura sighed.

And after a few moments of lag, Marui's love-sick brain finally absorbed everything circumstances seemed to have hid from him.

He fainted.

_Pfft-_

"PWAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA!" It was Niou, soon joined by Kirihara.

"Oh my- GAHAHAHAHAHHA! WAHAHHA- huh?"

He was cut off when he caught Yukimura staring at him. "Ah. I remember now. You're the boy from the entrance." the bocchama chuckled as if nothing happened, but it still reeked of annoyance despite its angelic sound. If he didn't know any better, Kirihara would say he opened the topic up _because_ he was annoyed.

It was then that Kirihara suddenly looked behind him, remembering what thoughts had been annoying _him_ these past few hours. "Aren't you with another (impertinent) boy?"

_Silence_

Yagyuu flinched. "Ara?"

Yanagi remained his usual stoic self as he muttered things. "He got separated from us some minutes ago."

"You noticed?"

"I thought it was interesting how he just disappeared."

Yukimura sighed, impassive. "He probably got lost again."

Yagyuu looked at him sceptically. "And he's your bodyguard?"

"Yes."

"Bodyguard?" Kirihara said. Well it made sense, so he shrugged it off. He then shifted his gaze towards his unconscious senpai and laughed boisterously again.

_Click!_

Kirihara blinked at the sound and saw Niou was having the honors of taking the photos. Kirihara gave him a thumbs-up and they cackled like the maniacs that they could be.

Ignoring the two, as always, Yanagi proceeded looking around as Yagyuu introduced the team."Where's Sanada?"

"He said he'd do some last minute checking of council papers or something. He said we should just go ahead." It was Jackal, obviously. "I think we should wait though. If it's alright with our guest." He added, as principled as always.

"Of course." The bluenette just smiled and decided to wonder around the garden. "May I walk around? Gardening is one of my hobbies."

Yagyuu nodded. "Would you like me to accompany you?" He smiled.

"Hai."

"Very well." The bespectacled boy uttered, and slightly raised his hand to lead the way.

**…**

A surprising amount of species was in that garden, making Yukimura's mood slightly better. Besides, it was interesting- this place _and_ the people. He felt so… normal among these students, and he really liked it. Even Yagyuu, he knew, was not treating him that differently- as odd as it might sound.

His mood, though, was still particularly unnerving simply because of his bodyguard's… incompetence.

Yukimura had noticed he was gone ages ago- back when they were still in the building. But he knew he wasn't supposed to. Ryoma had always been inconspicuous- the boy would rather hide his presence. The fact that he… avoided looking at him helped that.

So he wasn't even supposed to notice he wasn't there anymore.

He looked out the window curtain. Ryoma barely got lost before because he always followed _him_ around. He frowned at the implications of that thought.

_What was that boy doing? _

Suddenly losing sight of him like that…

* * *

*Meanwhile*

Ryoma's eyes twitched. _Where the hell was she?_

Due to the people who were trying to follow them (and she glared at them from time to time), she seemed to have lost her three companions.

She was still inside the building, making sure she was as unapproachable as possible. There was just one time that she asked for help asking where this 'greenhouse' was, and she was _sure_ she followed their instructions. Right?

A green house was nowhere in sight. That person probably told her the wrong directions.

She huffed.

She felt a surge of anxiety pass through her. What would Seichi say? Did he even _notice_ she was already gone?

She hurriedly stomped across the corridors.

_**BUMP!**_

The next thing she knew, dozens of copy papers floated around the air like snowflakes.

She heard a sigh and a large hand offering help. "No thanks." She said passively, and effortlessly stood by herself. Her golden eyes met stern ivory ones, and they stood there in silence- ignoring the mix of anxious stares and squeals that surrounded them.

Of course, Ryoma knew when to apologize. "Gomen." She said, and gestured to get the papers before any of them flew too far.

"Hm." Was all the man said and joined her.

As they picked the sheets up, they really thought that was the last time their presences would intertwine.

Oh how wrong they were...

For a few minutes later, they found that they ended up inside the student council's room- alone- still arranging the papers to their right order.

"I didn't ask you to do this."

"You didn't have to." Sanada nodded at the boy's answer. It was a given to do so anyway, and Sanada didn't quite mind the silent company.

In fact, he kind of liked it.

There was yet another long moment of silence between them, which didn't come unexpectedly of course. Neither of them were the talkative type and when doing things like this they normally would prefer being alone.

But somehow the presence of the other was oddly comfortable.

"I see you're abnormally organized." The boy commented, making Sanada flinch. In these cases, he thought people would ask why he was working alone during lunch time or at least they would beat around the bush to compliment his over-compulsiveness.

"I am." Was all he said, but when all the boy did was nod. Sanada found himself wanting to speak. "Are you not going to eat lunch? I can do the rest myself."

"Nah. I'm not really hungry." Ryoma muttered, trying to hide the fact that she got lost. "Besides, it's kind of interesting to see official paperwork."

"You don't need to lie to me." He said automatically and she blinked at him- making them gape at each other. She let out a low, reflexive, chuckle that kind of sounded like music-

Sanada's eyes jerked at the last thought.

Ryoma though, remained oblivious to the twitching. "That obvious, eh?" She uttered, pertaining to her lie. She was smiling.

Sanada raised a brow, masking the amusement from the pit of his stomach. "That... surprising that it was?"

"Hai."

Sanada found a smile climb up in his face as well, and he arranged his papers looking down on the pile to hide it.

"Interesting…"

.  
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**END OF CHAPTER 2**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER 3: Home**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS:  
**

**TunaForDesert- **The captain's Sanada since Yukimura was never in Rikkai before. ^^ And yeah, Yukimura doesn't know and wouldn't know for a while. XD Thanks for the review~**  
**

**MintLeafeon- **Yeah... Maybe. lol. XD Won't say anything! Hahaha. Thanks for the comment!**  
**

**maichan265- **Yep another story. lol I have zero tolerance to plot bunnies. XD And Hanamura here _is_ related to _that_ other one. hehe.. Thanks for the review~**  
**

**SoulVrazy- T**hanks for the review! Hope I can keep it up. Feel free to tell me when I don't though. Hehe**  
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**MysticBlood- **Here it is and I hope this new chap was good enough~ Thanks for the review. ;D**  
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**thfourteenth- T**hank you for the review~ I'm glad you thought so. ^^**  
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**shanagi95- **Hehe. That Ryoma the protector scene'll happen eventually. XD Thx for the comment!**  
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**Bao- T**hank you for the review~! Here it is and I sure do hope I didn't disappoint. XD**  
**

**Kupuruu- **Thanks for the review! Haha. I'll do my best to keep it... lovable**  
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**FranscoiseLaraLapis- **Hehe. Can't comment much on that. I might spoil something. XD Thanks for the review!

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Thank you for your time!**  
**

I would love it if you give me a little more of your time and share with us your thoughts...?


	3. Home

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I own the Prince of Tennis Characters and Techniques.

**WARNING: **May be confusing, but I assure you the loopholes (that I see) will be explained in due time. Feel free to ask questions though in case I missed I few. XD

**Thanks for reading so far minna-san~!** Especially those who supported me by reviewing, fav'ing, subscribing, and C2ing the story. Arigatou!

And I do hope enjoys enjoy this chapter~ And please don't hesitate to comment. :D

* * *

**…**

* * *

**CHAPTER 3: Home**

GREEN HOUSE

_GROAAAAN_

A few stomachs churned and cries of hunger followed.

Lunch was almost halfway done and there was still no sign of their captain. Their guest who everyone had finally found out to be quite the VIP looked ever-so patient. But they all had that predisposition to believe that cultured people like him might actually be showing the opposite of what they were_ really_ thinking.

And yes, most people would mostly be guarded and restrained.

But the tennis regulars were never quite normal. Yukimura found that oddly refreshing, and it helped his mood a bit. A bit. Just a _bit_.

But before he could let out a sigh, Kirihara slumped back savagely, no longer able to handle it. "_Moouuu_, how long is he going to get here? I'm hungry! Can't we eat before him?"

"He's the captain. And no." Yagyuu cut him off.

"But-" Kirihara then shifted his gaze to Yukimura, trying to use him as an excuse. Unfortunately for him, Yukimura wasn't in _that_ better mood. He would at least find something entertaining to watch until his body guard found a way to get back to him. So he smiled the angelic smile he knew too-well many fawn over.

"I'd like to meet your captain as well, preferably during lunch."

"See?"

"Darn it." The seaweed puffed his cheeks and proceeded to looking for a mood-lifter. It honestly wasn't hard-

_"Kukuku~"_

...especially when Niou was chortling like that.

Kirihara grinned and looked at the red-head a few meters away.

"Marui-senpai! You should come with us now~"

"Someone kill me." Marui whispered, unmoving at the structure's corner, surrounded by a dark, dark aura.

"No one saw anything, senpai~"

"Hell they did." He snapped, and when Niou wore that mischievous grin of his (probably planning on saying something disturbing) they heard a familiar sound.

_Creak_

They turned to its source. It was the French door, opening slowly- but at least it was actually opening, the promise of satisfying their hunger soon in reach.

"Here he is!" _Finally. _Kirihara yelled, while the usually-excitable Bunta just stared. Since he was the nearest to the door, he was the one who noticed their captain had a companion.

"Ah! He's with a kid…" he muttered lazily before proceeding to his corner of self-pity.

"_Kid?"_ a few repeated and looked behind Sanada as well. Kirihara's eyes widened and rudely pointed at whoever was behind their captain.

"YOU!"

The boy stared. But it seemed _nothing_ went through his head. "Who are you?"

"_Teme-"_

But their interaction was cut off, though, by Yukimura's cool statement and Sanada's glare at the rudeness of his kohai.

"You're late."

_Silence_

Ryoma let out a deep breath and walked closer to the bluenette. He made a slight bow. "I'm sorry for my incompetence."

Everyone gaped, but weren't particularly shocked, while Sanada's eyebrows met at the interaction and yet he didn't say anything- simply because he didn't know what to say, despite wanting badly to say _something_.

So he continued glaring at Kirihara who 'eeped' and begrudgingly apologized. "But buchou… can we please eat now?

He blinked and then saw that the food was untouched. "Didn't I tell you to eat before me?"

"We couldn't do that, obviously." Yanagi shook his head as if he just said something stupid.

"Just sit and join us eat, Buchou." Niou added dismissively, feeling his tummy, before turning his head to a corner and grinning sheepishly.

"Marui~! I actually brought my own cake here. Want some?"

Marui turned to him with a hopeful twinkle in his eyes but dismissed it immediately. Niou was, after all, nicknamed 'trickster' for _something_.

"Prove it." he said, still unable to completely consider the prospective treat nonexistence. It was then that Niou, who seem to have a knack with magic tricks, pulled out a nice little box that had the name 'Red Ribbon' engraved on it.

Marui usually ate cakes especially for him, but Red Ribbon cakes will do.

"You're forgiven!" he yelled and walked to sit beside Niou. He purposely avoided looking at Yukimura.

"He-he."

Sanada sighed, but he had to admit that despite how troublesome and noisy they were. They could always be entertaining to watch. Speaking of entertaining-

He turned to look for the raven-haired boy who somehow made his time fly by, causing him to be late despite actually helping with the paperwork. He couldn't describe that elated feeling when he found out it was going to be extended even when he was a bit confused when the boy said things along the line of 'I have to find my master'.

But as soon as his gaze landed on the boy, he found his frown got deeper. He saw that bluenette turning to the team's direction and away from Echizen. He could not help that churn inside his stomach when he made a guilty face.

"Buchou!" His teammates called, seeing he was already in a daze. He pushed away the thoughts to the back of his mind, and willed himself to focus on his stomach.

"A-Ah."

After all, this wasn't even supposed to be his business. They weren't even on his team.

**…**

They finished eating lunch 5 minutes before the bell rang. Marui was still depressed, while the guest had been quiet.

Sanada looked around and decided that the atmosphere was impractical for his tennis team. "We will resume our training after classes."

"Training?"

It was Yukimura and Sanada only nodded. "Tennis." He saw the guests suddenly flinch, but Echizen quickly hid it. He wondered why…

"Oh? You play tennis?"

"We all do."

"Interesting…" Yukimura whispered. He heard that his new school had the number one tennis team in the country. A pleasant surprise he didn't have to call them out. "Mind if I join?"

"Pardon?"

"I would like to join the tennis team. I have to say that I won't disappoint."

So the team looked at each other, not taken aback, but definitely surprised at the turn of events. But of course no one had a reason to refuse the bocchama. Besides, he looked pretty confident.

So, they nodded.

* * *

TENNIS COURTS, After School

"WHOA!"

_Pak_

"Sugoi. Yukimura-sama's so good!"

_Pak_

"Yeah, he'd be a regular in no time."

_Pak, Boink!_

_"YUKIMURA-SAMA!"  
_

A certain raven-haired cross dressed sighed. She was standing behind the crowd watching the ongoing tennis match, watching with a mix of emotions.

The team, apparently, already had quite an audience. Seichi entering the equation made it like a small concert of sorts. But that wasn't her problem, and she felt her grip on the water bottle and towel she got (no, she did not get lost so long as she had been to the spot a few times before) for Seichi.

Yukimura was playing Kirihara. It was definitely a one-sided game, with Kirihara on the down side.

And yet... she couldn't help but feel envious of the sea-weed brain.

...

She watched every single one of his shots. How the beads of sweats appear, and how they left his body. She watched every single graceful movement of his muscles- _every single one_.

He had improved by folds since then, since they met…

But in the end, she never got to play with him.

_She wondered why…_

It was then that she felt a hand on the tip of her head, as if to pat it unmovingly. She blinked and stared at the source.

"Sanada?" she voiced out changing whatever expression she had before.

The boy, who didn't notice what he was doing, quickly took it off and turned away slightly. It was a good timing that Yukimura just made a very impressive shot.

"Your master is good."

"I know." She nodded. "Seaweed isn't particularly bad either." Even when he was being crushed.

"Do you play with him?"

"I've never played with him before." She said, hoping it implied that she never played tennis. But it was no use, Sanada narrowed his eyes and stared at her.

"Do _you_ play tennis?" She wondered if she'd ever get anything past this guy. There was no use lying…

And it was honestly kind of refreshing.

"Hai."

"Do you want to join in, too?" he asked making her gape at him. His eyes widened immediately, but soon regained himself. "I mean… you are his guard, right?"

"…yes."

He cleared his throat, pushing a light blush away. "Aren't they a little too lax? Sending you as the lone guard? No offense."

"None taken." She shrugged. "The Yukimuras are too influential. No one would dare."

"I…see…" _Is that really it, though?_

"They also have this satellite monitoring suspicious movements." Sanada winced. That made sense, but something still felt a tad lacking but he dismissed the line-of-thought and proceeded to watching the game.

"Kirihara is doing very badly. He only got a game."

"If Seichi-sama was serious, Kirihara wouldn't even get a point." She said making Sanada stare at her.

They were silent after that and just watched everything unfold like the stoic people that they were, side-by-side.

Ryoma entered a daze as she watched the game unfold.

Seichi was definitely having fun, even when he was still in a semi-foul mood from earlier. And Ryoma could see it all so clearly.

"He seems happy." She commented unconsciously and she flinched the moment she realized she said it out-loud. She pushed the blush away and did not dare look at Sanada who was probably gaping at her.

"I'm… glad to hear that."

At then she looked back and stared at Seichi. She nodded out-of-nowhere. "Okay."

"Hm?"

"We'll join in." she said. Sanada smiled.

And once again, they entered that comfortable silence they seemed to be willingly entering lately. Once again, she watched how much fun Seichi was having. It had been a while since they encountered skilled players around their age.

She smiled as he made another good shot.

It looked like her master found a new home.

* * *

YUKIMURA TOKYO RESIDENCE, Later

Ryoma followed Seichi inside the house, staring at his back as inconspicuously as always. They had been silent all the way home, with Seichi staring blankly at the window psychologically pushing her away.

But… it wasn't anything new to her really. Heck- barely a month after they met, he was already pushing her away...

But it never quite seemed to stop being painful.

And thankfully as soon as they opened the door, she was glomped, effectively blowing the troublesome ponderings away.

"Tadaima, kaasan." She said and sighed as her mother cuddled her. "It's not like we haven't seen each other this breakfast, you know…" she mumbled as she watched Seichi get himself a glass of water.

"But we haven't seen each other for several _months_ before that. How _cold_!" Her mother pouted, still cuddling her. Soon enough, the woman decided to let go and return to her cooking. Rinko retired her high-end job and volunteered to be the head cook for them when they moved to back Japan, and no one (but Nanjiroh) said a thing.

"Dinner'll be ready in half-an-hour. Be sure to be here by then, okay?"

"Hai, kaa-san." She said and saw that Seichi was standing there passively as if he was waiting for her. Maybe he was, he probably thought she would probably get lost again since there wasn't anyone to follow to her room.

She didn't have _that_ bad a sense of direction. So long as she had been on a place a few times before, she could always get there without trouble. Yukimura never seemed to acknowledge that though...

She hated to sound so pessimistic, but he probably thought that was just how useless she was.

Ryoma once again pushed the thoughts away and just proceeded to her room, which was right next to her master's, and changed clothing. She slightly eased the bandage on her chest to hide her already small breasts, and put in her jersey and jacket to replace her coverings. She checked her wig- something troublesome, but it didn't compare to the trouble her parents every time she cut it to a comfortable length gave.

She always questioned why they kept reacting that way, but no one gave her a clue...

She shook away the thoughts and dismissed them as troublesome and so not worth pursuing anymore. She let out a deep breath and went outside to wait for Seichi to come out the door.

It was then that she heard a thump, and by instinct she opened the door.

Her eyes widened slightly.

It was Seichi looking mad with his hands forcefully on the table- as if _he_ was the one who consciously made that sound.

"G-Gomen Nasai." She bowed and looked away. What did he look so… distraught about? She did care, but she wasn't about to willingly offer her help when she was certain he was just going to shout for her to get out of his sight.

But before she even turned around, she froze. Why couldn't she just leave him some privacy, anyway? She turned back to his half-naked figure without the calmness it usually had.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No." as she thought. "But I suggest you wait inside somewhere. I'm going to take a while to get ready." He huffed and proceeded to his walk-in closet.

As ordered, she sat by an expensive-looking chair, and found herself passively looking around the room. It was designed (as the rest of the house was) in a classical revival style. Like the Greco-Roman designs minus the excessive ornamentation. The colors suited him perfectly as well.

Everything he chose fitted him perfectly.

It wasn't fair. She thought so highly of herself- but when she imagined herself next to Seichi, she couldn't help but feel pale.

She sighed.

When would _she_ feel worthy to be in his company, anyway?

Maybe she would never do.

Maybe she never _should_.

*Several Minutes later*

Ryoma's eyes found themselves slowly, but surely, feeling bored and tired from basically doing nothing. She stopped herself from thinking minutes ago for fear of what she might show when he suddenly came out of his closet.

Darn it. Last time she recalled, Seichi didn't quite take this long to get ready. She let her thoughts flow randomly at the possibility until it abruptly stopped. Her eyes widened.

_Could something have happened?_

She flinched and stood up. But before she ran she stopped herself.

After all if nothing did happen, then she was in for some trouble for being impatient and rude.

But what if something bad _did_ happen?

Just the mere thought made her go by pure reflex and sprint to the door to abruptly open it.

_Doki_

She was right.

Seichi was just there, lying with his back on the carpet and she ran to him. Her chest wouldn't stop pounding. She heard he was hospitalized for so many months for an illness just before she came and she dreaded the fact that she might be there to see it happen again.

"Seichi…" she called. It had been a while since she called him without the honorific but she didn't notice it at all. She held his cheek. He was neither excessively warm nor cold. He had always had the cool skin she remembered touching those years back.

When she noticed he wasn't moving, she felt herself gulp and huffed enough air so she could yell for help.

"M-Mot—"

But she was cut off by a hand on her hand and she whipped her head to him. She flushed. He was staring at her with those beautiful cerulean eyes of his. **Directly.**

She stopped herself from melting.**  
**

_How long had it been?_

But for what seemed an eternity later they whipped their gazes away simultaneously, and not looking at the other afterwards.

"A-Are you alright?"

"I was just tired."

"I see." She said, feeling the need to keep her distance. "Well if you'll excuse me…"

"Ryoma."

"Hm?"

"What… were you thinking when you saw me just now?"

She blinked at the sudden question. "I… thought you fainted."

"Were you scared?"

_What is with these questions?_

She turned away, hiding her blush. She couldn't deny it _now_, now could she? "…hai."

But he did not speak for awkward seconds after that and her head turned to check if he was still there. One of her fingers twitched at the sight of his unfathomable expression.

"Was it because it was your job…?"

She froze. Well, _was it?_

"I suppose so…" She said. _Was there any other answer?_

"I see…" he said placing a palm over his head, with eyes getting filled up by… what? Strain.

She automatically leaned down to see if he was alright. "Seichi-sama?"

He turned away, avoiding looking at her- again. She fought back the emotions that accompanied that actions and refused to leave. She even held his shoulder.

He froze, and quickly pushed her away.

_Doki_

So he was pushing her away physically now, as well? Sure, it was weak- but it was nowhere near gentle.

"Go. I'll go get ready." He said. To Ryoma it bluntly said '_Leave me alone'._

She gulped but immediately returned to her usual cool self, keeping her mind blank. She really liked it that way.

"Hai."

_SLAM!_

As soon as she stepped out that room, her feet lost all of its strength. It was as if the mental strength that she needed were taken out of her appendages.

'_Haa…'_ came a huff full of self-irony.

Seichi was so mean. Why couldn't he just look at her? It would have been better if he said all those things bluntly to her face.

But somehow… she couldn't quite get mad.

And that fact depressed her to no end.

* * *

ECHIZEN RESIDENCE, A Few Hours Later

It was late at night, and most people would already be asleep.

But two certain people were still lively, playing inside a tennis court within a Buddhist temple everyone thought was inhabited by perverted ghosts.

_Boink!_

And yet another point was lost- signalling the end of the game.

A racket was haughtily pointed at her face. "You've gotten rusty, O'chibi!" A middle-aged man in a monk's suit tried to provoke a young cross-dressing girl across the court. She frowned.

"You _think_?"

The old man's eyes twitched. "Why are you looking at me like it was_ my_ fault?!"

"Well it _is_. Maybe if you let me play with _him_- heck, why did I even _become _his guard?"

"Whoa, _whoa_. Kiddo. Calm down." Nanjiroh grinned. "Something happened, didn't it?"

"Urusai."

He stared at her, making her feel annoyed. It wasn't just that anticipating look on his eyes.

"Tell me!"

"Why are _you_ so nosy?" Last time she checked, _he was supposed to dislike this arrangement as well!_

"Because you look _so_ uncool I just _had_ to know what happened with you and Seichi-_sama_."

Well, that hit a nerve. Her hand clenched on the tennis ball at hand, and her tennis racket on another.

Nanjiroh didn't even see what was coming at him before it was on his face.

"GYYAAH!"

**.  
.**

**END OF CHAPTER 3**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER 4: Seichi**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS  
**

**SoulVrazy-** *giddy* Yayy! Not sure which idea your pertaining to though. Hehe. Thank you for the review~!**  
**

**shanagi95- **crazy idea but likable, eh? hahha. And about the Cap pair. Hehe. We shall see what kind of relationship it'll turn out! XD Thanks for the review~**  
**

**Yuki Masaharu-** I will, I will! hehe. And I'm proud to say this chappy came out earlier than expected, too. ^^ Thx for the comment!**  
**

**Purple Scorpion-** Hehe. Cap Pair moments will occur from time to time. ^^ I'll explain the body guard business one of these days. ;D Thanks for the review~**  
**

**TunaForDesert-** Lol. And there you were just obsessing about Oshitari a few days back. XDD Here it is~ and I have to say I updated pretty quickly. *Proud* Thanks for the review!**  
**

**FrancoiseLaraLapis- H**aha. Reading your review made me feel like I was teased with my own story. XDDD Thanks for the review~**  
**

**Hitomi65- **I'm glad to read that~! Thanks for the review. :D**  
**

**MintLeafeon- **Heheh. The Cap pair is cute no? I just actually realized that writing this fic. XD As for them finding out her gender... it won't happen after a while. fufufu~ Thanks for the review!**  
**

**platypuslover- **they've been together for a few years. I hinted in the first chap that Yukimura never 'looks' at her so Ryoma was sure he didn't know of her gender. : ) Thx for the comment~**  
**

**Tiger723- ***Update Soon Accomplished* lol. Hope y' liked it but you can be honest with me. XD Thanks for the review~!**  
**

**Guest [10/11/12] - **Oh, he will. XD Well, I'm sure it wouldn't be Yukimura. *Evil grin* Thanks for the comment~**  
**

**mai-chan265-** I can imagine you fangirling about it now. Haha. After you tagged me in FB and all... lololol. And I'm starting to really like the cap pair now as well. Hehe Thanks so much for the review!**  
**

**Minato-kun Lover- **I'm happy to read that! And I'm glad to announce I did update sooner than anticipated~ hahah. Thx for the review~**  
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**Guest [10/15/12]- (Ch1)** Hahah. I'm chuckling at your ideas over there. XD Thanks for the review~! :D

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**Thanks for reading~! I would truly appreciate it if you let me know what you thought! : )  
**


	4. Seichi

Oh my goodness~ Thanks again for the awesome support guys! Big big **big** hugs~! XD

Btw, since this is a new story, some of you might still not be familiar with my DA account. I made a few PoT fanarts there~ They're not that amazing but I'm a proud creator nevertheless. XD Check 'em out when you find the time. (oh! Links are on my profile). ^^

**WARNING:** A few loopholes filled, and a few more introduced! Tehee…  
**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I own the Prince of Tennis Characters and Techniques.

* * *

**…**

* * *

**CHAPTER 4: Seichi**

_LONDON, 4 years ago_

_It was a normal day within one the world's most famous cities. 10:00am, the clocks said, including the Big Ben._

_Yukimura Seichi was 15 years old and he was staring out the window of his hospital room in passiveness. The beautiful scenery outside nor the gorgeously intricate design of his room did not ease the creeping sadness inside of him. And that simply increased every single day._

_It had been a few months since he was confined after fainting during their tennis practice. The doctor said he had the Guillain-Barre syndrome. It was a neurological disease, paralysis to his limbs. He would slowly recover his strength and walk (in due time) but nothing else. His parents were doing their best to find the best way to help him recover. _

_Really, only the luscious plants on the room's balcony was the nearest to comforting him. _

_And, right now, he couldn't even walk there._

_He sighed._

_He had been a good child. He followed his parents' every wish. He had been kind to everyone, as he had been instructed to. He had always shown a smile. A smile of an angel, in fact, if he'd take most of his acquaintances' opinions into consideration. _

_Everyone loved him. He was sure, even the deities. Unless they were envious of him, of course, but that thought was just too silly. _

_So it always went back to the question of what could he have possibly done… to deserve this?_

**…**

_*A week Later*_

CREAK

_A few hours after noon, Seichi was back in his position several hours prior- and he thought he'd probably stay there again for a few more. It was until the door opened revealing a figure he hadn't seen in years. _

"_Ah."_

"_Yo, Kiddo." It was his coach when he was younger, he heard he was a pro and the man taught him tennis in a matter of a few _weeks_. It was a Spartan training, to say the least, but obviously Seichii would never show how harsh it was. He made everything look easy. _

_It seemed that his former coach cut his hair short. He even wore an odd monk attire. He wondered if the man was still as good as before. He wondered how much of the old man's strength could he muster if he were to go against him after he got healed. _

_Would he win? He frowned. Probably not._

_Not yet, anyway._

_Indeed, the coaches that followed Nanjiroh didn't even compare. What Nanjiroh taught in a few weeks was his foundation, and not just because he was his very first coach._

_Setting that aside… he would never admit he kind of missed the old man. And yes, he admired him, despite his utterly unsophisticated attitude. _

_Seichi looked back at his new visitors. Nanjiroh came with his wife, who was hugging Yuko, Seichii's mother. He didn't quite know the relationships between those four but it was obvious they were close friends. _

_They were chatting several meters away from him, just far enough for him _not_ to hear anything. So, Seichi just judged what they were talking about with their expression. He concluded it had something to do with his operation in a few days. The doctors said this was his best bet- and it had a high chance of meant they were _supposed_ to look a lot less distraught. _

_And yet they hid it well. _

_It was like they were hiding something from him. Like what? That the chances of surviving were lower than they told him?_

_Probably. But Seichi was not really afraid to die. He had fallen much too deep in love with tennis. Him unable to play with it again- unthinkable. For it was true that he had a duty to his family, he was the heir of what his parents worked so hard for… but it was tennis that gave him life. It truly was. _

_It was the only thing that made all the expectations pounded on him that much more bearable. _

**…**

_He was healed. The operation was a success. Everyone was happy. _

_But not for long…_

_Barely a week after his recovery, he soon noticed how his parents were still anxious. Anxious in an odd, unfathomable, sense that couldn't help but make him worry. _

_What was happening to them? Even his stern and strict father could not hide the insecurity in his eyes and this bothered him deeply._

_But he momentarily ignored all problems and smiled at the fact that he was healed. But then… as he savored the fact that he was going to be able to play tennis again… _

**He**_ suddenly came to his life and ruined all the foundation that he thought he had._

* * *

SEICHI'S ROOM, Present

The young heir slowly opened his eyes seeing his intricately carved wooden bed. He slowly (and elegantly) blinked the remaining lethargy away and sat up. His palm found its way on his head as if he had a head-ache, when that stirring inside him was far from his head.

He recalled how _he_ came and they suddenly announced that he was his new and _sole_ bodyguard. It was odd- the boy was so _small_… He had a number of bodyguards before when he was in school, just to be sure even when they were certain no one would dare risk their heads to harm him.

Was the boy that strong as to replace them? Or were his parents _that_ certain of his safety?

But then, a sudden announcement was made. It answered precisely _why_ such a small boy would be 'enough' to guard him.

His parents told him that from then on... he would be home-schooled.

He didn't want to remember how angry he was. He was fully recovered by then! He also had _friends_ and a team to take care of back at his school. They said they would hire ex-professionals to play with him. But it simply wasn't as fun.

He didn't understand why he felt like blaming everything on his new body guard, and his distraught was diminished to the bare_ minimum _when he hit tennis balls against the wall.

He was annoyed- albeit he barely showed it outside of court. His hidden sadism easily showed when he was inside it though.

God _knew_ he needed to show it. But later, he found out that the new boy _wouldn't even play_ with him.

So for the first time in his life, he showed a stranger just how _irritated_ he was of him.

**…**

_Knock Knock_

A knock came but it was only loud enough for him to hear if he was awake. He let out a deep breath.

"Come in." He said, getting a glimpse of greenish black-hair a second later. He frowned.

_Speaking of the boy..._

"Breakfast is ready, Seichi-sama." He said and surveyed the surroundings. "Should I open the curtains?"

"Yes, thank you." He nodded looking passively at his velvet comforter. Ryoma probably nodded, as usual, and proceeded walking to his large window at one side of the room.

When Seichi was certain Ryoma had his back against him, he looked and followed his movements as inconspicuously as he could. These times were the only times he could bear look at him, and usually he'd rather just… not.

Too many things simply attack him every single time he did. _Especially_?

When the boy looked back.

...

_Seichi and Ryoma were taught by highly qualified teachers for every subject, while Seichi played with highly-skilled tennis players every single day. _

_It had been a week since then. But they had barely talked._

_Seichi stared at him with slight contempt that nobody _should_ notice, and the boy didn't seem to mind the silence. He seemed to prefer not speaking. Somehow this disconcerted him more. He knew he didn't have much of a basis on blaming everything on the boy but how could he not even bother pleasing _him_, his master?_

_Couldn't he see that he was bored whenever he, Yukimura Seichi, was with him? _

"_You." He finally called, wearing his usual calm and 'kind' demeanor. It was a habit to do so, besides he was never really angry that he never really needed to fake it. Right now though, he'd rather not show the boy that other side of him. Being looked down upon by a servant was something even _**he**_ was too proud to let happen._

"_Hai?" Ryoma monotonously answered, but it was nowhere near respectable. The boy looked at him like he was just a random passer-by calling him._

"_Play with me." Everyone knew how stern he becomes when he was on court. So slightly showing how annoyed he was in there would not be too out-of-character. _

_It had been a week- it had been a week since his venting._

"_I can't." _

_He could swear that his eyes twitched. "Why?"_

"_I just can't." he said dismissively, skilfully changing the topic. "There's a pro coming in an hour. Shouldn't you be warming up?" _

_Seichi frowned at him. _

"_Do you not notice how impertinent you are?"_

"_Impertinent how?" _

"_Reflect." He stated, waving his arm to make his point. Ryoma frowned at this. _

"_What? Do you want me to bow down?" _

_He stiffened. Well, did he?_

"…_no."_

_The boy looked at him, eyes showing signs of how exasperated he was becoming and unreasonable _he (Seichi)_ was. "Let me repeat my question. Impertinent, how?"_

_But now he realized. The boy wasn't mocking him- not really, as in as that was what one would expect from such an apathetic-looking kid. Seichi realized, now that they were so close, that he was being _analyzed.

_Yukimura Seichi should never be readable unless he allowed himself to. _

_So, he didn't speak, and appeared to be appraising his new bodyguard. The boy though, did not even snap. If anything, he found out a lot how much- and how long ago- he was being watched inconspicuously. _

"_Why are you so mad at me? I was just as surprised with this arrangement just as you were." He looked at him. He _knew_ he was mad? But now he really didn't have any basis on being annoyed with him._

"_I'm not mad about that." Seichi said. "It's rude. I am not a shallow person, Ryoma-kun."_

"_But venting it on me is childish. Childish but acceptable."_

"_How can you say that?"_

"_Why else would you be so irritable?"_

"_How can you say being childish is acceptable?" He corrected, convincing himself that he was just scientifically curious._

_But the boy smiled, making his insides flutter. "Why wouldn't it? Aren't you just a child as well?" _

_In the boy's golden cat-like eyes... did he, Yukimura, just see a glint of admiration in that... above-average...smile?  
_

_He was never allowed to be a child before, let alone still be admired with it.  
_

_He wondered what this boy was thinking when he said that. Yukimura prided himself with being able to know what people thought, and assuming that he read the boy correctly... there remained the fact that he didn't quite understand him yet.  
_

_He realized he had been wanting to.  
_

_"Ryoma-kun."  
_

_"Hm?"  
_

_"What's your full name? It's odd that I don't know, and odder that you never told me."  
_

_"Echizen Ryoma."  
_

_"Hm?" Did he just hear what he just heard?  
_

_"My father was a coach of yours."  
_

_He stared at the boy. Incredulity obvious in his eyes. _So much for being guarded_, but at the moment he really didn't care what he showed. He voiced his thoughts out with a smile. "You don't resemble him."  
_

_Ryoma was still looking at the grass when he released a low chuckle that caught him by surprise. "Thanks." he said, as if it were a compliment.  
_

_It was then that Yukimura finally realized that Ryoma was actually being kind of _shy._ He, too, chuckled at the thought but kept it to himself. He wanted to hear what the boy wanted to say._

"_I heard about the operation." The boy muttered at last, still looking away. He usually disliked being pitied upon, but somehow- for now- he did not mind. "Don't you think they just wanted to protect you?" _

"_Protect by imprisoning me?" he asked in a non-offensive way. _

"_Maybe that's why they still hired a bodyguard for you despite you just staying at home." The boy whispered and he found himself raising an eyebrow, surprisingly interested in what the boy was trying to imply._

"_Is there anything you want to say?"_

_Ryoma just sighed and looked at him straight in the eyes. He found himself wincing under it, but he composed himself in a blink of an eye. "Why don't we just make this work?"_

_The boy politically held out his hand._

_"Echizen Ryoma." the boy repeted, making him smile genuinely. "Yoroshiku."_

_He could only catch his hand for a very awkward handshake._

_**…**_

_A few weeks passed since then and they started talking a bit more. Ryoma rarely initiated it though, as expected, but Yukimura nevertheless found his presence oddly comforting.  
_

_Must be because he was his body guard. They were, after all, supposed to make one feel that way.  
_

_He ignored the fact that he felt **more**... protected around the green-headed 12-year-old _than his bulky old guards_.  
_

_They were walking at the huge backyard at the moment, pausing in front of a fountain since Karupin suddenly wanted to play with the birds having their innocent baths.  
_

_"Karupin." Ryoma called slightly raising his voice when Karupin made a splash that almost reached them.  
_

_"Saa... let the feline be, Ryoma. Let's just take a rest over there." Yukimura suggested and pointed at a backless bench a few meters away from where they stood.  
_

_They just sat there after a while, but neither felt a little bit tense. From his periphery, Seichi stared at his body guard as inconspicuously as he could. These past few weeks he had, surprisingly, let himself open up to Ryoma albeit it was only little by little. And the boy did to him as well, which he later realized became a bad thing- For as time passed, he had grown to know him._

_He found out that not just the apathetic little kid who somehow became an expert in martial arts._

_He was so much more than that._

_He saw occasional… softness behind those eyes that usually let out glares. Cold looks that he sent towards the old teammates that visited him, and even towards some of his especially pompous coaches._

_Those odd words of wisdom that the boy utters out-of-nowhere. Words that he later realized were words that he needed at that time._

_It was disconcerting, yet it didn't feel wrong at all._

_"Seichi. Won't your eyes hurt if you do that? Staring at me from the side, that is." His eye twitched and he quickly pushed down a blush before it even reached his membranes. He was staring for _that _long for him (Ryoma) to notice? He mentally cleared his throat._

_"Now, why would I be staring at you?"  
_

_"You tell me."  
_

_"What if I told you I wasn't staring?" He asked rhetorically and he felt a twinge of guilt when he saw Ryoma make a sad face. Most people wouldn't see it, of course, but he was Yukimura Seichi.  
_

_"Very well." He admitted. "I was staring. I was thinking of why such a small boy would become my body guard. What do you know of this arrangement?"  
_

_"Not much." Ryoma shrugged, and turned slightly away from him rendering him unable to see fully what expression Ryoma was currently making. "It was a... family tradition. That's all. Like to develop a sense of responsibility. We seem to be frivolous by blood."  
_

_"I see." was all he could say. The last part was supposed to be funny, as it pertained to Nanjiroh. But that tone... Ryoma was hiding it well but he was definitely in pain. Seichi's hand rest on Ryoma's head, touching it gently, making the boy stare at him in surprise. Actually, he was surprised at how... pleasurable touching this person was. He touched a lot of people- most of which for formalities. Why was this particular touch so different?  
_

_"Do you hate it here?" he asked, pertaining to why he was making such a sad face.  
_

_"No." Ryoma whispered tilting his head back down and looking at the grass as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. "Frankly I don't think agreeing to guard you was the wrong decision. Not that I actually had a choice, but still."  
_

_He chuckled, realizing that his hand was still lingering over his guard and took it away immediately. "Okay, then. So now may I ask why you won't play tennis with me?"  
_

_"That's because I can't... play tennis."  
_

_"You can at least try. Every one can play tennis."  
_

_"Nadda."  
_

_And with that, Yukimura's eyebrows met and his eyes narrowed. He could see that Ryoma flinched. Barely, but he definitely did. He let his inner sadist take over for a while (seriously, he wanted to play tennis with Ryoma- even if he sucked), and he unconsciously thought of ways to make that happen.  
_

_"Seichi..." Ryoma sweat-dropped. "What are you doing?"  
_

_"Touching your nose." He said as a matter-of-factly, hiding his own blush. He then pressed it so Ryoma's voice would be amusingly different whenever he spoke.  
_

_"Sheishi..." __Yukimura could swear Ryoma blushed. He really wanted to see it again. _  


_Yukimura chuckled.  
_

_"Thishisn't fffunny."  
_

_"Sure it is." He smiled that angelic smile of his as he let his weight rest on his other hand on the bench. This was actually quite torturous for him. It felt really, really weird touching Ryoma like this. What made him flinch even more was when Ryoma touched his intruding hand to force it away.  
_

_'So soft.'_ _he mused, which was odd since Ryoma's hand was heavily calloused. Like his, since he played a lot of tennis. He wondered where Ryoma got it from.  
_

_"Are you sure you don't play tennis?"  
_

_"Hwai." Ryoma mumbled making him notice the fact he was still pinching his nose.  
_

_"Why won't you try?"  
_

_"Why do I have to?" His heart skipped a beat. "Don't you have more than enough people to play with?"  
_

'Yes, Seichi, why?'

_"I thought it'd be fun. Playing with you, that is."  
_

_"Ah."  
_

_"So will you?"  
_

_"No."  
_

_"Like I asked, Why? And don't you dare try and change the topic again."  
_

_"Oyaji told me not to."  
_

_"Why?"  
_

_"I dunno."  
_

_After a moment of silence, Yukimura let out a sigh. "You don't seem to be the type to follow orders so easily, especially when you don't know why."  
_

_"I'm a body guard-slash-servant now, remember?" Ryoma muttered sternly and shifted away. Yukimura held his guard in place by holding his... warm and slender arm.  
_

_"That's not the point."  
_

_"Sure it is. Even Karupin understands that."  
_

_"You're changing the topic again, Ryoma."  
_

_"What topic?"  
_

_He felt his eye twitch in annoyance right then and there. "RYOMA."  
_

_"Ara? Karupin!" Ryoma's said, blinking, and jumped to somewhere near the fountain. Karupin was running after a bird and he was bound to get lost.  
_

_"Ryoma!" But the boy was already out of earshot. Probably. No. Ryoma _definitely_ heard (but ignored) his calls. He knew how strong Ryoma's sense of hearing was.  
_

_And Yukimura, once again, only sighed.  
_

_...  
_

_A few more weeks passed by. It didn't take long for him to realize how… giddy he became when the boy was with him. How nervous he got when he looked at him… how his heart skipped a beat when he smiled- no matter how slight- especially when he was the one who roused it._

_How nice it felt when he was being… gentle with him. And he was his _body-guard.

_His nonchalant touches became hungrier but he never succumbed to them- no matter how strong they became. So much alien feelings come to him every day that he didn't know what to think._

_And slowly, but surely, the joy and excitement he associated when he was playing with tennis he felt the same when he was talking to the boy. Just… talking. Sometimes? They weren't even saying anything. They were just there- sitting beside each other… staring into blank space._

_His bodyguard's mere presence was enough to lift all those implied burdens that his parents never ceased to remind him of._

_He realized this had started some time ago, but what 'it' exactly was was definitely still unclear. Frankly, he thought if he told anyone they too would be confused as to what was happening to him.  
_

_But apparently he was wrong._

_The Echizen and Yukimura families lived together in a single mansion in London ever since Ryoma became his bodyguard. It was interestingly just a few blocks away from Buckingham Palace. Seichi was then walking passively across the corridors, thinking about why Ryoma would not play with him even for a harmless warm-up (Ryoma was still, rather skillfully he had to admit, avoiding those topics). Sadly her whole family was being annoyingly ambiguous.  
_

_And with those thoughts, he ended up in front of Ryoma's bedroom door.  
_

_Embarrassed, Seichi quickly turned around. But he was not even able to take 3 steps when he heard quite a bit of shouting inside his room. _

_He unconsciously went to the door and eavesdropped. _

"_B-But Okaa-san!"_

"_No! How **could** you cut your beautiful hair, huh? HOW?!"A familiar voice cried in despair.  
_

"_But it's so much more prac-"_

"_NO."_

"_Kaa-san…"_

"_No buts! Apologize to Karupin." _

"_Ha…?"_

_Seichi's eyebrows furrowed. Wasn't Ryoma's hair short enough? Or did he go for a buzz cut?_

_He shook away the thoughts, and the accompanying distaste that came after it. Why would he care about his body guard's haircut, anyway?_

Creak

"_Seichi?" Ryoma blinked and quickly closed the door. "Is there anything I can do for you?"_

_The bluenette looked at him. The length of his hair barely changed from yesterday's. He didn't see why Rinko would react so violently…_

"_I was… looking for Karupin." was all he could say at the moment. Ryoma raised a brow of suspicion.  
_

"_Karupin?"_

"_Yeah." he said firmly as opposed to his faltering stance a second prior. He hope Ryoma would not see through his lie, and thankfully he did fall for it. Ryoma's beautifully glistening orbs made sure he knew that."Let's look for him together." He smiled and went on their way, around and around the huge house._

_But… as a few times before, Ryoma lost sight of him and hence got lost._

_Well, lost as in he wasn't with his master. Ryoma knew the place well enough to know his place around, but to Seichi… so long as Ryoma was not with him, then Ryoma was (_unquestionably)_ lost._

_And so, Seichi ended up in Ryoma's room again._

_He sighed in exasperation. _

_It was then that, once again, he heard people talking. This time though, Rinko had company. It was his mother. His mother was laughing, probably teasing Rinko of whatever she and her son was fighting about earlier. He stepped closer to the door. _

"_Darn it- why are they so slow?!"_

"_It had only been a few months, Yuko." _

"_Well, yes…" his mother whispered. "Oh well… I think my Seichi fancies your child already though."_

* * *

He didn't understand why the female specie- even his own mother- found amusement in male to male relationships. His father would definitely not be pleased. Nor would anyone else in their let out a deep breath at the memories.

But it still made him hopeful.

Hopeful for what- again, he'd rather forget about such thoughts. They were the cause of most of his fret, anyway.

That moment he felt supremely annoyed with his mother. How _dare_ she plant that seed of hope inside of hi- No. **He did ****_not_**** fancy Echizen Ryoma**. How could he? There wasn't any reason to. He convinced himself that every time he imagined him and Ryoma as l-_lovers_, the churning in his stomach was that of disgust.

Disgust.

And with that, Yukimura Seichi pushed his body guard away.

.  
.

**END OF CHAPTER 4**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER 5: Change of Heads**

* * *

**REPLIES TO ANGELS**

**Yoruko Rhapsodos-** I agree, must be confusing... for both of them. ;) Thanks for the comment~! (: D**  
**

**Tiger723-** Glad you thought so, then! Haha. And yep- Atobe will so be pissed of *spoiler* _regularly_ in this fic. XD After about half-a-dozen chapters or so, though. ;D Thx for the review!**  
**

**MintLeafeon- **We feel her, right? A good thing Seichi doesn't hate her after all. T_T And I'll try to make the revelation as epic as I can when the time comes. XD Thx for the review~**  
**

**platypuslover- **(I'm imagining perry the platypus right now lol) She goes to the boys' restrooms, believe it or not. HAHAHA. Thank you for the comment, btw~**  
**

**Soul Vrazy- **Oh, _that_. Haha. You mean PMS of sorts? Well, the Ryoma's I write don't really get affected by the cramps etc. Hehe. I'll see what I can do, though~ Thanks for the comment! XD**  
**

**TunaForDesert- **Hahaha. Thank goodness you kept quiet! It was what this whole chap was about. XDD Thanks for the review and I don't think G-chii will mind at all! Haha**  
**

**ChocoMickey- **The answer for will she find out her feelings is 'yes', while I won't answer why she became his bodyguard just yet. ;D Thanks for the comment~**  
**

**Yuki Masaharu- **Hai~ here it is and hope you liked it! Thanks for the review. I like ur name, btw. Makes me picture a female Niou of sorts XD

**FrancoiseLaraLapis- **Yep2. ^^ The reason he was like that is revealed in this chap~ Hehe. And Sanada is so cool I can't _not_ let him know things. lol. Thx for the review!**  
**

**Minato-kun Lover- **Arigatou for the review~! And *crosses arm proudly* I updated quickly again~ BANZAI!**  
**

**Guest [10/19/12]- **Haha you guessed it! XD I'm still not sure what to do with Ryoma's tennis skills at the moment though. hehehe. And thanks for the review~!**  
**

**xbamsod- **lol. I'm curious about how they will react, too. XD Hope I can come up with something better than what I did before. haha. Thx for the review~**  
**

**Darkspider- **fufufufu~ *Evil grin* Indeed! I'm looking forward to how that (the revelation) will turn out as well. XD And i like the idea of Ryoma going to Seigaku coz' of Yukimura! Haha. I won't use it for this story but I sure do wanna read a story using that! Thx for the review~**  
**

**natasya ivashkov- **Thanks for the comment! ^^ And I hope the explanations here relieved the pain somehow. Ahaha ; )**  
**

**xXxOtAkU-444xXx- **Glad you thought so! And thank you for your review~! XD**  
**

**shanagi95- **haha. At some point you being confused is a good thing. XD But if you _really_ wanna know, like right now, then *spoiler* he does not know Ryoma's gender. Thx for the comment, btw~**  
**

**mai-chan265- **lol. My love for the pillar pair is showing! haha. I'm happy you liked the interactions as well and thanks for the review! XD**  
**

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**...**

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**Thank you for your time! I would love to know what you thought and your reactions are. (: -D  
**


	5. Change Of Heads

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I own the Prince of Tennis Characters

Yeah, a lot'll be implied here. Most of you can probably guess some big plot devices with this chapter. Don't spoil though~ *wink*

And guys, please please please don't hesitate to comment! :D

* * *

**…**

* * *

** CHAPTER 5: Change of Heads **

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

"Thank you for the food." Yukimura uttered politely towards Rinko and went stood and gestured to go back to his room and further get ready. As always, Ryoma followed him as their rooms were just next each other.

As she watched the two children go upstairs, Rinko (now in her late 40s) sighed in exasperation. They forced those two to be home-schooled for a reason. They forced them to go back to school because what they planned failed miserably. And looking at them now, the situation didn't seem to be improving much.

Sure, the initial goal had been met. But things were moving a tad too slowly for her poor impatient little mind. If Yuko and her husband weren't too busy with their business they would help her watch over the kids, too. She was still reluctant letting the kids school in Japan, since a lot of problems—the reason why they moved to England in the first place—were still here.

But the other three who-was-not-her insisted, telling her this was the homeland the four of them were born in. They had to take their chances… for sentimental reasons.

Rinko shook her head. As a former lawyer, it wasn't something that sat by her so easily. But what could she say? She was outnumbered. Besides, she could hope her Ryoma would know how to handle it in case she would meet _them_ again. She was born pretty stoic already, and being Seichii's bodyguard hardened that face.

She pushed the thoughts away. She would just have to hope for the best.

But then Rinko wondered if it was time to give those two a little push…

After all, the brunette was just _itching_ to tell them the truth.

**…**

RIKKAI HIGH, A few hours later

It was, once again, lunch time in the green house. The team was as hyperactive as usual- with Kirihara and Marui being noisy, Yanagi introducing a new poisonous drink, and Jackal shaving his head at the corner hygienically far enough from them.

"Seems like I've been unknowingly taking Vitamin B Complex." Was all he said.

But in their midst… Ryoma remained apathetic.

Yukimura threw stares at the boy's eating figure, albeit instantaneous ones. He'd rather not have anyone else find out about his inner stirrings.

He cursed. These feelings just wouldn't go away no matter how hard he tried. The feeling of disgust, of course. How could he work with a bodyguard he disliked anyway? He mused and mused and mused.

He didn't realize that the thought of replacing him, which was always an option, never quite came to mind.

Until now, that is.

"…mura."

"Yukimura." He flinched and looked at the source. It was Yagyuu. His eyebrows was raised, obviously puzzled as to why he would be in a daze. He could sense another stare, an analytical one, and it would be either Ryoma or Yanagi. Or maybe even both.

"What is it?" he smiled that trademark angelic smile of his, hoping it would wave off any sort of prying questions.

"Are you alright? You looked a bit pale…"

"Ah. But I was born pale."

Yagyuu slightly shook his head. "What I mean was—"

"Saa…" Yukimura cut the gentleman off, making an eyebrow jerk by a millimeter. "What did you think of my suggestion?"

"Oh." Was all Yagyuu said and let out a piece of paper. He looked rather cautious, really. "I liked it." He said truthfully. Sanada's training regime was really good and well thought-out, he didn't thought anyone could improve it.

He handed it to Sanada, hoping he wouldn't get offended.

And as Yagyuu carefully watched the captain skim through the list, he couldn't tell. That stoic mask of his was truly hard to analyze, even after all this years. Only Yanagi, so far, was close to accurate when trying to decipher Sanada's miniscule change of mood.

Rikkai's gentleman just sighed and proceeded back to his meal.

**…**

Ryoma blinked. _Did Seichi do that on purpose? _It wouldn't be like him if he didn't know it would offend a prideful captain like Sanada. After all, he just came to the school and now he's dictating the training regime?

And yes, Seichi was dictating. Obviously, no one should refuse the bocchama especially since the suggestions were, indeed, good.

She looked at Sanada and frowned slightly. She would have to find a way to subtly apologize to this person. Like him, she too found it quite easy to read the other. Well, relative to Seichi anyway. It was hard to see through that mask after he started pushing her away.

Ironic, really… the master was being guarded against his own bodyguard.

She had always wondered why she was still in this job. Maybe he asked his parents to replace her behind her back? She shook her head. He wasn't that kind of person.

Then again… he had been avoiding looking at her for such a long time that a direct gaze was enough to make her stutter.

In any case, she forced her line of thought back to the subject at hand: Sanada. And how to apologize.

He _was _her friend, after all, it was an intuitive fact already. There was no way she could ask Seichi to apologize, especially when she was uncertain if he did it on purpose (which he probably did, since he could be quite sadistic when he was bored), so it would be left on her shoulders.

"I like it." Sanada said coolly, and went back to his food. "Let us use it. I'm curious to find what could have made you spend the effort?"

"Well, I thought it was time to strengthen your team a bit more especially since the only one left after you graduate well, needs improvement." He said 'non-offensively' as if it wasn't directed to a certain someone 'coincidentally' sitting right in his line of sight. This actually made a few of teh regulars cackle.

"Pfffttt-"

Kirihara gritted his teeth. "Grrr- Marui-senpai!" He yelled, since the red-head did not bother stifle the laugh and he was closest to him.

And so... another useless, and rather physical, bantering session ensued.

'_Well, that was entertaining'_ she mused, watching the two with a frozen face albeit all the same amused eyes. '_Surely, that was enough for Seichi?'_

And when she stole a glance towards her master, she had a feeling that was a very incorrect assumption.

**…**

*Later that day*

Yukimura Seichi watched over his new team as he walked by Yanagi (Yagyuu was playing with Niou). He was explaining to him in more detail the training regime they would implement the following week. He felt like the captain already.

Soon, on a side of a court, his eyes caught a glimpse of his body guard who was supposed to be with the freshmen and doing what the basic training they were supposed to do—not just standing around and getting approached by another boy.

"Echizen." Sanada called coolly, oblivious to his nearing presence. "Want to warm-up?" Yukimura paused his steps and gaped. '_That boy better say no for his own good.'_

"No, thanks." Ryoma said. _Good_. "Essentially I'm still a freshman so I'd just pick up balls."

"It doesn't suit you."

"You think?"

Ryoma smirked, and Yukimura's eyes twitched.

"Those two get along well." Yanagi said, suddenly appearing from behind him. Yukimura was trained to be immune to surprises so he just looked at the closed-lidded boy with a serene expression that did not match the emotions inside his gut.

He smiled. "You don't say…?"

"Hai." Yanagi said, pretending not to hear that 'tone'. "For such reserved people, they opened up to each other quickly."

'_I didn't ask for your opinion.'_ He muttered mentally and Yanagi smirked as if he actually heard it. Yukimura ignored him and headed to his body guard. But before he could be even a meter closer- a certain seaweed blocked his path.

"I challenge you to a match again, senpai!"

He sighed. "I'm not in the mood."

"I practiced a lot!"

"I doubt a day of practicing would do you any good." He said dismissively, eyes catching the two figures who seemed to have _finally_ noticed them there- thanks to Kirihara's loud mouth.

"I will challenge you as many times as needed." Kirihara said eyes looking at him determinedly. "I will be number one- no matter what it takes!"

"Oh, you defeated him?" he asked, pointing at Sanada. Sanada remained impassive, but it was obvious he would listen to this conversation with analytical ears. Kirihara's back slumped by reflex.

"…no."

"How can you be so sure you'd be number one if you beat me?" Kirihara gulped, intentionally avoiding the captain's stare. Yukimura smirked- feeling especially sadistic that day. "Who do you think is stronger, hm?"

"Is that a challenge?" A familiar voice suddenly seemed closer.

"B-Buchou!"

Yukimura caught Ryoma's stare from behind him. He couldn't tell. That almost invisible curling of his eyebrows…

Was he worried? But then Yukimura mentally grimaced at a thought.

_Worried for whom, exactly?_

"I'm curious. Are you taking it as a challenge Sanada-kun?"

"It depends. You seem to have a predisposition in being vague." He said stoically, but Yukimura couldn't help but feel insulted. Why did he get the feeling that he meant a _lot_ of things by saying that?

"I do?" he feigned innocence. "Well, that's unfortunate."

"But I had the impression you would immediately take it as so." Yukimura smiled and looked at Sanada, who remained stoic- the intimidation that he felt untraceable. "Why are you hesitating?"

And Sanada only frowned.

**…**

The courts bustled with people, forcing the regulars by the court's sidelines. Not that they didn't prefer it that way, of course.

Kirihara puffed his cheek as he was supposed to be on one of the sides of the courts right now when he felt someone poking his shoulder.

"Who do you think will win?" It was Niou- wearing a familiar grin. Kirihara knew that look.

"How much?"

"At least Five thousand yen each." Kirihara's eyes widened at the huge sum and calculated (no, he was not good at math) how many weeks it would cost him. He then stared at Yanagi and Yagyuu.

"W-What's the percentage, senpai?"

"I say 50-50."

"Whoa."

"The bocchama's that good?"

"Probably better."

"I go with Yukimura then." Niou said immediately and Kirihara frowned at him.

"How low-"

Yagyuu's eyeglasses, on the other hand, shimmered. "Your fate in buchou is disappointing, Niou."

"I'll bet for the captain." he then added a second later.

"Che. How loyal…"

"I'll bet for Yukimura." Yanagi said and frowned at his team's stare. "What? This is only a battle of abilities. It doesn't mean anything else."

Marui blinked and took a few bills from his wallet. "Yukimura." And for some reason, the boy blushed.

Kirihara puffed his cheek again. "I'll go for the captain."

"You guys-"It was Jackal obviously, earning himself curious stares from his teammates. "Who ya' betting for."

"I'd rather not." He said, but Kirihara, Marui, and Niou went closer to press him.

A few veins started appearing on his bald head.

"Nenenenene~ Who?"

"Jackal-senpai~!"

"Stop being on your comfort zone and take risks, Jackal." Yanagi said out of nowhere, as if he was being asked to do something honorable. "Isn't that one of the thi-"

"My tennis style and betting hard-earned money is not the same, Yanagi." he said and turned, while the close-lidded boy just shrugged. "I tried." he said while Kirihara puffed his cheek again and pouted. "Kill-joy."

"Kill-joy." Marui agreed.

"KILL-JOY." His doubles partner, also, so-helpfully added. But Niou was firm.

Until he felt arms over his shoulders and two heads- as if he had two voices in his head, openly brainwashing him to take his chances. "Oi, oi. Isn't a good thrill once in a while good for you? That bald head is starting to look like it was caused by stress." One said. "No offense."

"In case you haven't noticed, Marui, I would think having no hair at all would be less troublesome for I wouldn't have to shave it again."

Marui remained silent, but then the other (almost forgotten) other voice spoke up. "You don't like taking risks outside tennis and your career?"

"Hai." The bald man did not like where this was going.

"Ehh... They why in the world would you take that part-tim-"

He covered Niou's mouth to shut him up, and as he saw the stares- the half-Brazilian could only groan in despair.

**…**

Inside the courts, Sanada sighed at his team while Yukimura chuckled. "Interesting…"

"What is?"

"Want to make a bet as well?"

"…"

Yukimura stared and Sanad let out a sigh. "What do you have in mind?"

"Whoever wins will be the new captain." Yukimura said, making _everyone_ gape at him as if he just dropped a bomb without blinking of an eye- which he _did_.

_What was he up to? _

But in the end, Sanada could not stomach another 'intimidation' from this person. If he refused, he'd probably imply of him being afraid again. Not that he would usually care or bother about what other people thought. It was just that that adjective never quite sat well with his mind. That, and he just especially disliked being looked down at by this person.

So, he lifted his chin and stared at the bocchama. "Fine"

And there was silence._  
_

**…**

_Pak!  
_**_  
_**_PAK!_

**_PAK!_  
**

Yukimura and Sanada had already let out buckets of sweat- along with all of their audience. Heck, some even held their breaths at unhealthy amounts of time.

Everyone was silent, watching the two's match in awe.

_Those two are not human_, was what most of them thought after seeing the invisible swings, returns, and god-like techniques.

"Unbelievable."

"Are they really middle schoolers?"

A person shook his head at that question. "No. They're gods."

_**PAK!**_

Yukimura let out another shot that proved those statements. It was a barely visible shot, but Sanada would not lose so easily. He returned it with a nearly invisible swing.

_PAK!_

An another wave of awed murmurs surrounded the courts.

In the midst of it all was Ryoma, standing passively on the sidelines. She wanted to join those two- so badly. They were having such a… fun game. But she shook it away in a second. Sure, it was she who still refused to play with Seichi, but... it seemed like the motivation to literally avoid it wasn't going to change for a while.

She let out a deep breath and looked at the sky. It was getting dark. The match had been going on for almost an hour now. Barely anyone noticed though. They all wanted to see this match to the end.

_Boink_

Soon, the last ball came.

And it ended on Sanada's court.

**…**

Ryoma looked at Seichi. He was not in the mood to entertain objections at the moment, so doing her job, she quickly strode in front of him—as a shield, of sorts. "Leave him alone. He won fair and square." She said to the tennis regulars, who were lining up for second, third, and fourth-emotions. She then looked at Sanada. He still looked calm and collected, but she knew better. He was just looking at the ground. Ryoma swore to speak with him soon.

"B-But—" It was Kirihara, looking panicky with Marui. Jackal was right behind them to add more arguments while Niou just looked shocked.

"He's right." Sanada cut him off, holding the boy's shoulder firmly. "It's not like I'd be quitting the team."

"Ryoma…" They heard a voice call. Apparently, Ryoma had stopped his steps. He quickly followed his master. Sanada stared at their retreating figures.

He caught Ryoma slightly tilt his head towards him. The boy was worried for him, wasn't he?

Ryoma gave an apologetic nod to him that only he could see and he returned it with an imperceptible smile.

* * *

ECHIZEN RESIDENCE, Later

As soon as they had reached the house, Yukimura "dropped" tired on the sofa. The quote was there because he was too graceful to even call it that. He lethargically placed his elbow on the armchair and let his chin rest on his knuckles. He stared at the boy who was arranging their items a few meters away from him.

"Be thankful we both arrived here safely." He said, earning a stoic yet all the same puzzled stare. "Well, you looked (and still do) like you're in a daze. What would you do if anything happened to me?"

"I… wasn't in a daze."

"Is that so…? Then you must know that three of the regulars followed us here, right?" Ryoma flinched immediately and looked at the window.

It was true- Marui, Niou, and Kirihara were there. One epic strong bike carried them there. The three were panting heavily from following the car (which was odd since only Marui actually pedaled).

Then she realized she wasn't supposed to act surprised.

"Too late." Yukimura stated, and she frowned. She looked out again at the window. The three would start arguing on who would bloody ring the intimidating door bell.

"Sanada had been the captain for 4 years." Yukimura stated, appearing behind her with a hand on the silky lavender curtain. "Why couldn't they just let it go?"

"That's precisely why they couldn't let it go. To them, captainship is more than just a term." She said, unflinching of the sudden proximity.

Yukimura raised an eyebrow. It wasn't everyday Ryoma would talk back to him like this. "What is 'captainship', then?"

"They were all good friends. Sanada had been their pillar for so long… he had been like an older brother to them... guiding them."

"Eh…" he uttered, _slightly_ starting to get more annoyed. "How come you know this?"

"_Those two seemed to get along well…"_

"_They opened up to each other quickly…"_

He frowned at the memories. "Could it be that you think I'm incapable?"

"No." Ryoma answered. "But… did you want to be captain so badly? I know you were captain before you were hospitalized, but—"

"I simply thought I was more capable. You should know how tennis means to me. Every opportunity to experience all of its side is one of my priorities." He let out a deep sigh, before turning his head to Ryoma again making him flinch. "Why are you upset?"

No answer.

"Was it because _he_ was?"

When Ryoma did not respond, Yukimura found his aura darkening even more. "Why?"

After a moment of silence, they started to forget there were three of Rikkai's regulars just outside the gate. "Sanada…" Ryoma started. "He's my… friend."

And Yukimura found a frown immediately climbing up his face. "Sanada?" He asked, it was followed by a scoff. "You met him yesterday."

"So?"

"You were never quite the friendly type."

"How would you know that?"

"We've been together for 4 years now."

Ryoma scoffed, rather unconsciously, making both of their heads whipped to meet the other.

"What are you being sarcastic for?"

"I'm not." Was Ryoma's immediate answer. Yukimura frowned deeper but proceeded to looking out the window.

"Know where your loyalties lie, Ryoma."

Ryoma stiffened.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, looking away from him. "I don't see myself serving any other persons."

But when, her question was answered by mre, disconcerting, silence. Ryoma automatically shifted her gaze to him, not expecting him to be looking back at all. She shivered but nevertheless kept her stoic façade. He rarely looked at her, and now that he was... it turned out to be a subtle glare?

She could only stared back, waiting for him to say something since his eyes were definitely… dynamic. Well, she wouldn't know what to in reply to them, anyway.

More and more torturous seconds passed and she found it harder and harder to keep her composure. Just a few more seconds and she would break—

This was bad. Very bad…

She always had this extremely inconvenient tendency to blabber about things she'd rather not talk about when she's nervous. She gulped, and talked anyway. Not that she could help it...

"As Sanada said, you tend to be ambiguous. Are you going to tell me what you mean or not?"

"Oh? You're quoting him now, too?" He smiled that devilish smile that even made _her_ cringe. See? She knew his dislike towards Sanada, and there she was quoting him.

She rummaged her brain for something non-suicidal but she couldn't be sure.

But despite the multitude of thoughts attacking her brain, somehow his beautiful bluish purple eyes reminded her he was there. No. It was more like it could still _demand_ that she knew of his presence.

_Kami._ _Why isn't he speaking? _Her apathetic facade would break soon, and she'd rather not have him see that. She was being useless a body guard as she already was.

He was still unmoving. Even his line-of-sight. Ryoma uttered mentally a few curses, as if it would help her situation. She wondered if he was appraising her. He definitely looked the part, anyway. Appraising for what? Was she going to lose this job now? Could she afford losing this, she wondered...

No, she probably could not.

Amd if only that motivation was enough to keep her mask from falling apart, everything would be just fine. But it's not. Seichi always had his way on doing that to her- even when he wasn't even trying.

And when she saw his lips part as if to say something-

_Ding Dong_

She gulped.

"I'll go get it." She said swiftly, and simultaneously turned around. As she held the door knob, a relieved sigh came out.

She was literally saved by the door bell.

**.  
.**

**END OF CHAPTER 5**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER 6**

* * *

**REPLIES TO ANGELS  
**

**PurpleScorpion- **Thanks for the review~ An yep, Yukimura wouldn't take it so lightly. I can't seem to make a no-drama story, anyway. haha. Also, other teams will show up... eventually. XD**  
**

**MintLeafeon- **Oh, the entertainment of watching someone in denial. HAHAHAHA. And about Atobe... hmmm...Naw, I won't tell. XD ...anyway, thank you for the review~!**  
**

**Soul Vrazy- **Hai, Ryoma's female. But I assumed she (like male Ryoma) had an epic tolerance for pain so those monthly cramps wouldn't bother her. ^^ Thx for the comment~**  
**

**shanagi95- **Thank you for the comment~! haha. I am evil ,arent I? XD It's fun so... hahahahha**  
**

**hitomi65- **Thank you for the review~ It's nice to hear that. ^^**  
**

**Yoruko Rhapsodos-** lol nooooo! Don't be impatient. XD Mah, I'll just try to make you forget that issue for a while. haha. And thanks for the comment~!**  
**

**Kupuruu- **Yeah! haha. I just thought it'd be fun. XD Here's the update and thanks for the review~**  
**

**FrancoiseLaraLapis- **Hai~ The admittances wouldn't come too soon though, I hope. And yes~ Sanada would be relatively sharper than even Yanagi and Niou when it came to those two. XD And thx for the review~**  
**

**TunaForDesert- **Hahaha *Hoping you don't get the other twists right* Pfftt- but feel free to guess. XD Thanks for the review, btw~!**  
**

**xXxOtaku-444xXx- ***cheers* Thank you for the review~! : D**  
**

**ChocoMickey- **Lol. I just thought it won't be as fun if Seichi was too smart. XD And he will realize his feelings, just won't say how yet though. And when. haha. Thx for teh review~**  
**

**Tiger723- **Lol. Yeah for future drama! haha. I have trouble actually stopping it when it starts and it turns soap-opera-ish tho. Thanks for the review~**  
**

**Minato-kun Lover -** Oh he, she will, she will reveal it- sometime soon... okay, _eventually._ haha. Thx for the comment~**  
**

**Guest [12/26/12]- h**ahaha. I won't comment much since I might spoil something. lololol. So yeah, thank you for the review! XD**  
**

**Darkspider-** Hai~ So his denial reactions are a tad stronger than normal guys disliking male-male relationships and ended up liking another 'guy'. hehe. thx for the comment!**  
**

**Yuki Masaharu- **Mind-blowing? *blushes* Happy you thought so and thanks for the review~!**  
**

**natasya ivashkov- **hai~ I thought it would make for some more 'questionable' behaviors from him. Hehe. Thanks for the comment! ^^**  
**

**mai-chan265-** Ryoma is usually = Rude. hahahaha. And about the pronoun. It's just a typo. ^^ Seichi really doesn't know yet ;D And mothers really are usually the cause of changes. Not that good for Seichi though. haha And Thank you for the review~

* * *

...

* * *

Thanks for reading~ **  
**

Please pause before going anywhere and let me know what you thought. : )


	6. Of Cats and Anikis

**Thanks for the support guys! Hope you enjoy and please don't hesitate to comment, review, rant, fangirl, flame, or critique! Every reaction motivates me. ^^ **

**And I apologize for the delay. I kinda got stuck, in my main POT story, and looking at the chapter now- I probably would be again. So be warned! XD  
**

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**…**

* * *

**CHAPTER 6: Of Cats and Anikis  
**

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

The three regulars sat stiff on the soft Sheraton couch. They felt awkward under Yukimura's stare, even when he wasn't openly glaring at them.

Actually, the bocchama was _smiling._ And that smile sent shivers down their spines. Not to mention the tension within the room was suffocating. It was so _heavy_ that they found themselves in an unmoving straight, not to mention uncomfortable, sitting position.

'_What is with these two? Did they have a fight?'_ The observant Niou mused in contrast to his two oblivious teammates. He noticed the miniscule changes in expression Echizen and Yukimura showed. He couldn't see everything since they were even better than _Sanada_-buchou in composing themselves. Who would have thought, right?

So it made him all that much more curious as to what happened for them to be this… well, readable.

But Niou knew his priorities. Curiosity would come later. First-

"Please reconsider the captainship Yukimura-sama."

"Ha…" Niou let out, as someone beat him to saying those words. It was Marui Bunta, mustering all his courage (not to mention pushing his blush down) to speak. Apparently, the red-head was still crushing over Yukimura. Niou was still unsure whether or not his teammate is gay (or bisexual to be more precise. Marui did have a few girlfriends), or it was just that Yukimura was that lovable.

He mentally scoffed at that. Yukimura might be gorgeous, but _lovable_? Fat chance. Niou thought Ryoma was more charismatic than his master.

"I really don't see the issue with this." Yukimura said, eyes looking to them and yet at the same time, not looking at them at all. Niou learned (by implication) from speech class that this was a sign that he was talking to a group—to no one in particular… _or_ talking to someone he was not looking at.

"I just thought that since I'm suggesting training regimes anyway, wouldn't it just be offending to Sanada if I kept doing so? Besides he agreed with the bet."

_That actually made sense_, everyone even Yukimura thought. He mused as to why he didn't think of this earlier. He focused on his peripheral vision and stared at Ryoma. That boy really had a knack on making his IQ lower.

"He can always be the fukubuchou, anyway." It was a given _he _would not be second in command. Kirihara's eye widened at the realization a little later than all of them.

"Oh, right."

"Baka." Ryoma muttered, stood up, and went to the kitchen.

"Kaa-san. I'm hungry." The boy stated a few meters away from them. They were hearing the sound of frying… and that scruptuous smell finally invading their noses as they were too nervous to notice before.

"Just a minute!" A woman said and not even a few seconds later, they heard a little clank. "Ready."

Suddenly, their stomachs groaned. They were suddenly hungry. And as if on cue, the same woman (whose voice was that much more attractive now that they were hungry) called them sweetly.

"Boys~ Time for dinner."

Yukimura let out a sigh. They were drooling, after all. What choice did he have?

"Come."

"If you don't mind us intruding…" leave it to Marui to suddenly be conscious a little too late.

He was ignored though, and Yukimura absent-mindedly lead them to the kitchen. Niou saw that Echizen was setting the table up and he couldn't help but smirk. Even if he knew the boy was a servant, Echizen certainly emitted an aura of arrogance around him and it always surprised him when the boy did banal tasks like picking up tennis balls.

But then again, doing something feminine... Echizen really seemed kinda cute.

"Sit down boys." A brown-haired woman smiled at them, and for some reason Niou though the woman pulled him out of his daze on purpose. _Mah,_ the food smelled nice so he sat down obediently anyway. But before he sat, he recalled his manners and extended his hand over to the lady.

"Nice to meet you Ma'am. Niou Masaharu." he said boyishly and the woman chuckled. He was followed by his two teammates upon realizing that the food could wait... for a second.

"MaruiBuntaMa'am." the region's best volley-specialist said rather swiftly. Niou knew he couldn't speak coherently since saliva might come out. The nice smell of the food wasn't helping, either.

"Kirihara Akaya. Yoroshiku!" The team seaweed grinned and then turned to Echizen, who was then standing beside him and putting in his plate. "Wow. Does your whole family serve the Yukimuras?"

"Sort of." the boy shrugged and Kirihara just stared at him for a while as the others took their seats. When Echizen finished off the set-up, he paused and frowned at his teammate's antics. "What?"

"N-Nothing. You just didn't seem like the type to follow orders." Kirihara muttered, and Niou internally nodded. _Yep. That's he thought, too._

"I'm not the type to follow orders." Echizen said almost immediately, before shifting his head slightly to Yukimura's direction- intriguing Niou quite a bit. "…that are not my master's."

But before Kirihara could say anything else, they were interrupted by a silky voice they knew all too well now. "Ryoma." He said. "Sit down"

"Hai."

And Niou could not help but blink at the slight smile that crept up the new buchou's face.

**…**

*Several Minutes Later*

That dinner, for the three, was quite tiring. Sure, at school even with the bocchama's presence they could be themselves. But at his lush house with a fine middle-aged lady eating with them... they were forced to act appropriately. That house was, as Niou would term, one of those places that could manipulate a person's behavior. Yes, like museums and churches.

In any case, his habitual observations did not stop as they ate their gourmet-level dinner (oh, he could _so _eat here every day). It was then that Echizen suddenly stood up, seeing the drinks had already been drank away, to get some more.

Niou blinked. Watching him move without obstructions, he concluded there was something fundamentally different about that boy, and yet he couldn't quite tell what it was. There were very very miniscule differences in the form, the movement, and many more but it was hard to tell what the overarching difference was.

Niou frankly was surprised. He had been thinking about this since the previous day. He usually figured these things out, even under the pressure of tennis matches, in a matter of minutes.

At that thought, a familiar smirk climbed up his face.

_Challenge accepted!_

But then he felt a glare. He twitched, automatically whipping his head to the direction it emanated from. _'What could you be watching my body guard for, hm?' _it stated. It was Yukimura, of course, and once again Niou found himself blinking.

'_Those two are weird…'_ He mused. They acted so cold with each other and yet oddly possessive? _'Weird couple.'_

His eye widened. _'Couple? Where did that idea come from?'_ But his reverie was quickly broken by Kirihara and Marui gasping simultaneously. It was followed by a soft 'meow'.

"It's a cat!" Marui literally squealed. "_Kawaii_…"

"Himalayan!" Kirihara grinned and oh-so etiquette-ly stood up to hold it up in a swift manner. But as his palm touched the cat's soft and silky fur, a very annoyed and stern voice from behind them was heard.

"Oi." It was Echizen. At that point, everyone that didn't know the cat was intimidated.

"N-Nani?"

"Karupin is my cat. Don't touch him."

"Isn't that being too possessive?" Kirihara snapped, and sparks immediately flew between them. Niou crossed his arms and looked at the two parties in alteration. He liked watching conflicts. Besides, it wasn't every day he saw Echizen looking so openly annoyed. It was interesting, and he knew Yanagi would have loved to see this.

Maybe he'd record this and sell it to the data master…

"N-Niou?"

It was Marui, starting to look pale.

Just the thought of prospective profit made stars sparkle around the trickster and Marui could only sweat-drop, seeing he was the only sane one there left in the team.

"So? He's my cat." Echizen repeated glaring Kirihara, who barely holding up. "Let him go."

"You cannot control a living thing's actions like that."

"…says the idiot who just grabbed the poor innocent Karupin up before he could retaliate."

"_Teme_—"

But before Marui could run in front of Kirihara to stop this fight, they heard simultaneous coughs. Actually they were clearing their throats. They forgot about them—the most sophisticated people in the room. Or in town for that matter.

"Sit down." Yukimura ordered, while Rinko stood up and took the drinks from Echizen and laid it down on the table herself. The three did as they were told and continued the awkward dinner in silence.

**…**

Later that night, after a thorough 'thank you for the meal', the three finally took their leaves. They were now standing in front of the door saying their goodbyes.

"Be sure to close the gates~" Rinko smiled, waved, and headed inside ahead of the two kids. The brunette smiled when she saw Karupin waiting a meter from the door.

"Hai. Sorry for intruding." Marui said as they remained by the door. Niou nodded and Kirihara only 'hmped' since he was still unsatisfied with how his verbal match with Ryoma ended.

"Mah, I'll be sure to punish you for intruding tomorrow." Seichi said, and along with the three, Ryoma stared at waited, and waited... until Seichi finally opened his mouth to explain.

"Be sure to go to school early. You'll be running 20 laps before the morning practice." He said, slowly turning around as well. "Be late, and it'll double."

"JA."

And the bluenette was gone.

"-EEEEEEEH?" they yelled as soon as he was out of sight, and so loudly that it made Ryoma, who was innocently just standing there, to cringe.

"Oi, oi."

"Captain's words are absolute." Marui stated, immediately composing himself thinking that maybe Seichi was probably in the vicinity. The red-head then 'maturely' patted Kirihara's back before he did anything stupid.

"He is _not_ the captain." the seaweed brain said, making all of them frown.

"Stop being stubborn, Kirihara." Marui pouted earning another childish 'Hmph!' from the sophomore. Ryoma was too tired for this so he held the door and waved his hand at them dismissively.

"Ja." Ryoma uttered and slowly closed the door to say his message. The three reluctantly turned around, albeit Kirihara was forced to, and said another batch of short farewells. The so-called ace of Rikkai gritted his teeth in annoyance, but as he was about to turn around to give off one last glare at his enemy, he heard a soft 'meow'

"Ah, Karupin. Sorry I made you wait long." Kirihara's eyes widened.

_Doki_

He gulped and his steps halted, eyes unconsciously not straying an inch away from the sight that Echizen made. _'He could make such an expression?'  
_He mused, not expecting this at all. He watched the boy finally shut the door and hence finally escaped from his sight. Still, a newfound wander stayed inside his head, keeping him at the daze.

"Oi, Kirihara! What's wrong?" Only when Marui shook him (violently) did he escape from it.

"N-Nothing."

And so, the three too finally exited the property.

**…**

Ryoma entered the living room, carrying her previous feline. She saw her mother and Seichi standing there seemingly waiting for her. It was then that Seichi turned his head towards her direction. "I'll be heading to bed now." He said, and she automatically looked at the clock. "Just ask Rinko-san to take you to your room."

Her eyes twitched at the last sentence, momentarily forgetting why she looked away in the first place. "I won't get lost you know."

"Sure, you won't." he said satirically, but of course Ryoma didn't say anything else. So she just watched him slowly turn. "Good night Ryoma, Rinko-san."

But then she recalled what the clock said. "At 6:30 in the evening? You just ate."

"Then I'll stare at the window for an hour."

"And go to sleep at 7:30 in the evening?"

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Sure, neither of them needed to study. They could do their home works within a few minutes. But still- Ryoma shook her head.

"Are you feeling alright, Seichi-sama?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked rhetorically and dismissively waved his hand.

"I'm just tired. Oyasumi."

**…**

Ryoma washed the dishes in a daze. Although it wasn't always the case, Yukimura usually hang around the living room reading a book from their large bookshelf until a good time of the night. She felt a little worried. He usually didn't lock himself up in his room so early.

"What are you thinking?" Rinko asked, smiling, as she put the left-overs to the fridge.

"Too bad... He seemed utterly comfortable with them the first few days."

"Well, you didn't exactly help with the awkwardness." Rinko chuckled and saw that Ryoma had already done her dishes and proceeded to Karupin who was patiently waiting for his master.

"Ah." her daughter just said and patted Karupin's fur as she carried him along. Ryoma smiled and took the feline to the living room to play with it there.

Karupin soon felt tired, though, and Ryoma massaged her head at the thought of how quickly Karupin lost energy now… Rinko felt a twinge of pity for her daughter. She saw Ryoma stare at the more-than-usual amount of fur that stuck to her hand in sadness. He was becoming thin, and was eating a lot less than he used to.

Ryoma hid her despair well, but she was her mother—she could see that Ryoma was truly sad of the impending events.

"Karupin is already more than 12 years old. You better be prepared." Rinko stated. It was time to voice it out, even when they all knew of it by intuition. Ryoma frowned at her.

"So? I'm sure Karupin'll live long, ne? Besides don't cats have 9 lives?"

"Ryoma-"

She swiftly turned her head to the floating Karupin."You won't die until _he_ returns ne?" She asked and gently moved him so that his tail waved elegantly like the cat that he was. "That means you have a looong time before _you_ leave me."

Rinko stared at her daughter but decided not to go against her. "Yes, the family has a frivolous blood, but Nanjiroh and you returned right? Ryoga's just a late bloomer."

"And we'll all sure to smack him when he returns."

"_Meow."_

"So stay healthy. You have 8 more lives, though."

"_Meow."_

**…**

Rinko watched the girl carry her sleeping cat to her room. A few minutes later, Ryoma went down wearing her usual casual (boyish) attire with her tennis items behind her back. She could only raise a brow and place her hands on her hip in questioning.

"Where are you going this time in the night?" Ryoma looked at their grandfather clock. It indicated that it was barely past 7.

"Courts."

"But in the _middle of the night_?"

"It's still early. And don't worry. Thugs here aren't stronger than in England."

"I know. That's not what I'm worried about." _Duh_. She was pertaining to her getting lost and not finding her way home until the next day.

"I'm fine." was all Ryoma said, obviously not hearing her own mother's worried tome (or perhaps ignoring it openly), and walked to the door.

"Ryoma."

"Ryoga."

"..."

"Ryoga's going to return with Karupin alive and well. We're going to smack him together. And I'm going to beat him in tennis, too. It's time for me to start practicing seriously again."

Rinko stared at her daughter. She wanted to hug her daughter but went against it. Tennis is what could comfort her now. So she just let out a sigh.

"Good Luck, then." and decided she needed to go to bed early as well.

* * *

PUBLIC COURTS, An Hour Later

Echizen Ryoma just arrived at the courts and the first thing she did was hit the ball against the wall. Other than her father, walls were her only opponent anyway.

_Pak_

As she hit and hit, her mind wandered as to why she suddenly felt like getting some air. So challenging her dad was out of the question. That man was just friggin' stressful.

_Stressful._

_Pak_

Her brother's face appeared on the wall, and her shot sure as hell got stronger.

**…**

_CALIFORNIA, 13 years ago_

"_ITTEEE!" Ryoga shouted when the young Reina hit him with a tennis ball. "You _so_ did that on purpose!" _

"_Mada Mada Dane." _

"_W-Where do you get the arrogance, brat?" he gritted his teeth as he took the ball and dribbled it. He first stared at the ball and stole a glance of his 3 year old sister. She had that serious expression on her face. "Be thankful you're so cute!"_

"_Eww. Just serve, aniki!" the little girl just yelled. Ryoga then sighed, sent a wink, and threw the ball up. But before he could hit it-_

"_RYOGA!"_

"_Kaa-san." _

"_The school bus is there. Get ready for school." _

_His posture immediately relaxed and his hand automatically fixed up his things. "Hai~"_

_"__EH?"_Reina_ blinked in surprise, she did not expect her brother to run away! And he was not stopping either. "Oi, baka-aniki, **Stop** running!"_

_Ryoga, who was already a few meters away, paused and cheekily turned his head. He sent out a tongue. _"Bleh. _It's not like you'll beat me either way anyway."_

_Her eyes twiched, and Ryoga only grinned.  
_

"_See ya' later, lil' sister~"_

**…**

_Later that afternoon, Reina was being taught by a personal tutor on how to write and read. She was way advance than most kids her age, the old man said so himself. But this also meant she easily got bored._

"_When are they coming back?"_

_The old man looked at the clock. "Soon." he said and slid a notebook to her side of the table. "Time isn't running faster, kid. Answer that. Hoho~"  
_

_"Che." she muttered and looked at the notes. Math. She sighed and scribbled her answers.  
_

_Scribble Scribble Scribble- _**Creak **

"_Tadaima~" She perked up at the sound of her brother's voice and stood up.  
_

_"R-Reina-chan!"  
_

_Her expression didn't change and she slid the notebook to him. "There!" she said and ran to the door, making the poor old man shake his head. He looke dat the answer though and was surprised they were mostly correct. So, he shrugged in the end and stood up to meet the tennis prodigy as well.  
_

"_Look what I got on my way to school." was the first thing he heard. Ryoga had his hands on his back and maneuvering himself so that the prying Reina wouldn't see.  
_

_Banji found a smile on his face.  
_

_"Just let me see, baka-aniki!"  
_

_" Waaaaitt."he grinned, but the 'surprise' itself could no longer wait either.  
_

'Meow' _it said, and when Ryoga sighed in exasperation. He slowly revealed the feline. Banji especially liked furry ones, so he went closer to the two kids as well, to dote on the Himalayan Kitten. He then turned to look at Reina, who had literally stars floating around her. She was openly excited and Banji wished even harder that he had a grand child. _

"_I-It's a cat!" She said, stating the obvious. And lowering her voice and stance, she whispered: "Kirei."_

_Ryoga and Banji grinned at the cute sight. The younger man nodded proudly. _"_I know, right."_

"_So... we gonna keep it?" _

"_Yep."_

"_Keep what?"_

"_Karupin."_

"_MEOW."_

_The kids blinked. Their mother looked comprehending- NOT a good sign.  
_

"_Please Kaa-san?"The kids said at the same time, and Banji only chuckled. Rinko frowned deeper and raised her voice.  
_

"_But taking care of animals is a big responsibility! And you've already named it?!"  
_

_"It's fine! It's a cute name, anyway."_

_"That's not the point." _

_Ryoga then pretended to think and smiled at his little sister who, in turn, tilted her head. _"_Then we'll take care of Karupin together, ne, Reina?"_

_Reina beamed. _"_Yeah!" And then ran towards her mother and jumped excitedly. Rinko's face turned red probably finding it harder and harder to refuse her cute daughter.  
_

_"Pleaseeee! Onegai!" __  
_

_Rinko's eyes could only twitch in her failing attempt of denial._

_"F-Fine."_

_And with that, a family of five was formed.  
_

_**…**_

"_Meow!" Karupin mewled and Reina smiled to pick him up. _

_A few years passed since they met and Reina was officially going to be a first grader! She told it proudly to Karupin who just licked her face affectionately. Her brother, who was going to the middle school just across the street of her new school, glared at the cat._

"_Darn cat. Taking advantage of my cute lil' sister~?" Ryoga then hugged the 6-year old playfully. _

"_EEK! Go away Aniki!" Reina pouted pushing him away. It was then that they heard the door open and they stopped playing to see who it was. It was Nanjiroh, looking serious. _

"_Ryoga." _

"_Oh. What is it Oyaji?" Ryoga narrowed his eyes, while Reina watched them guardedly. She did not like this atmosphere. Their father gestured for Ryoga to come up to him so that they could speak. Reina unconsciously went to follow, but Nanjiroh's hand stopped her from moving._

_He smiled, but it was the type of smile that she never saw her father wear before. "Stay there, kiddo."_

* * *

_**PAK!**_

That was the last day she saw her brother.

It had been a shock to her of course. She wasn't able to sleep for weeks straight when she overheard that Ryoga ran away. After that talk he looked comprehending, and not even Karupin could make him smile genuinely anymore. She even blamed her father. She just _knew_ what the old man told him was one of the causes of why he left.

And it didn't take long for her parents to explain Ryoga ran away because of the family tradition she was going through _now_. It was really just for the males of the family, and they told her she didn't need to go through it.

Who would have thought a few years later that she would go against that tradition herself?

And due to some unforeseen circumstances, too.

Her eyes jerked.

**_PAK!_**

She continued to hit the wall, imaging a few different faces in alteration being hit by her strong shots.

She was in a deep daze... and soon, she realized, albeit a tad too late-

That someone had been watching her.

.  
.

**END OF CHAPTER 6**

_**Coming Soon:**_**  
CHAPTER 7: Alphas**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS  
**

**Natasya Ivashkov- **Yep, Seichi is pretty bad last chapter. XD And thank you for the comment~!**  
**

**Bao- **Hehe. Actually I personally don't mind either guy as well! XD Both are just so lovable- kyaa! Haha. Thanks for the review~ !**  
**

**shanagi95-** The answers to your questions on Ryoma's ability'll be revealed next chap {ch7} haha. I'll be realistic w/ Ryoma's ability, though, so be warned! ;)**  
**

**Minato-kun Lover- **Thank you for the review~! And sorry for the longer-than-before update rate. Hope this was good enough. XD**  
**

**Soul Vrazy- ***cough* I shall use my right to remain silent on that one. XDD Just wait and see if ur guess is correct. Haha. Thanks for the comment~**  
**

**TunaForDesert- **Carnival?! Le jelly. I've never been to one before... And I'm flattered that you thought so, too! Thanks for the review. ^^**  
**

**Yuki Masaharu- **Because if you recall, he's avoiding looking at her. Denying her... charm. It blocks his brain that way. XD And I sure do hope that the story will forever be exciting! XD I do my best and thank you for the review~**  
**

**MintLeafeon**- lol. I wanted Seichi to be the evil one for a while. XD Evil guys are especially cute when they're jealous, no? kukuku~ Thx for the comment~**  
**

**Guest [11/1/12]- **Ahaha. Ryoma'll play in Chapter 7. I'll try to make it worth the wait. XD And fufufu~ I wanna make the cap pair spend time together for a while. XD Thanks for the review~**  
**

**Tiger723- **Gahahaha. The ultimate showdown, indeed! XD Oh yeah, weird how? Cuz' they're both... alphas? fufufu~ Thanks for the comment. lol**  
**

******Guest [11/1/12]**(2)- Hai~ Thank you for telling me! XD I tend to mix the names a lot. Haha. And thanks for the review~**  
**

**PurpleScorpion**- No offense taken! ^^And looool. I agree she and Sanada are cuter together... for now. Haha. I dunno how I'd do it- but I'll try to change ur mind about Yukimura. XD Thanks for the review.**  
**

**kikumarucat-** Hmn... what Seichi was thinking, eh? Not sure when I'd use his POV again, but I sure do hope this chap is tolerable all the same! XD Thx for the comment~**  
**

**FranscoiseLaraLapis- **Lol. They're the pinnacle of being misunderstood. hahaa. And yeah, poor Sanada. Ryoma'll be there to be all nice to him tho. Fufu~ Thanks for the review!**  
**

**xXxOtAkU-444xXx- **;D hhahaha. Thank you for your cute lil' comment. XD**  
**

**Darkspider- **Ahaha. It's fun to pair twisted guys if the poor girl's not you. Hahaha. And I do have this prejudice tha non-talkative people get along. XD And I recall when I paired Ryoma to Tezuka I totally got the same comment on the relative thing. haha. And last but not the least-** HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!  
**

**The weasel is MINE- **Here it is! I am so sorry it's so late. T_T I tried my best and I pray this was worth the wait, ^^ Thx for the comment~**  
**

**DragonFire Princess- **ASAP? Hahaha. Fun how soon I uploaded after ur review. XD And the answers'll be revealed soon enough. Thank you for the review~! ;D

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...

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Thank you for reading! **  
**

But WAIT! Before clicking exiting the page, please scroll down below and let me know what you thought! XD


	7. Alphas

Thank you sooo much for your _amazing_ support guys and I'm so sorry for being late again! It's just that I got stuck AGAIN on my other story that was proclaimed to be my _main_ story so I can't exactly update it any less frequently than other stories. It dragged all of my other stories with it. I'm so soooooooooorry! **T_T  
**

**I do my best to make the wait(s) worth it though and I hope you enjoy this chapter~  
**

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**…**

* * *

**CHAPTER 7: Alphas**

PUBLIC COURTS

_Pak_

Sanada Genichirou was playing against a wall, again, since he was not in the mood to play tennis with any living being at the moment. He was actually playing against a wall that had been receiving his shots since he was a kid. It was hard to contain whatever was showing in his eyes, so he'd rather not have anyone on the other side of court. Not that anyone would be playing with him that time of night, of course.

_Pak!_

_Now that he thought about it,_ he paused and hit the incoming ball upwards to the air and caught it by hand. He looked down his watch. He blinked. Had he taken _this_ long to realize the time before? Not that he remembered. So he let out a deep breath, hoped that his grandmother didn't suddenly go home before planned (next to impossible that she would, but if she did she would definitely have a heart attack due to worry). He shook his head in self-disapproval and started packing up.

But as he walked farther from his wall- amongst the silence the night gave and the quiet rustle of the leaves as they danced with the cold gentle breeze- he heard a very familiar sound that he didn't quite associate at that time of night. He followed it without batting a thought.

_Pak!_

A strong shot hit a poor wall head on. It was so strong that just seeing the impact made his feet halt. As the ball bounced back to where it came from, so did his line of sight. His eyes widened.

It was Echizen.

_Pak!_

A beautiful form— so beautiful that he didn't understand why he wasn't able to see it, even in the boy's slightest movements. The ball once again bounced back to him as if it was alive. Sanada gulped unconsciously and watched Echizen hit the yellow ball with all his might.

_**PAK!**_

His brain might have exaggerated, but the wave the ball caused when it hit that wall was very… enticing.

_Doki_

It was then that the boy suddenly turned his head towards his direction. Their eyes widened simultaneously, and they took a disconcerting amount of time to return to their stoic selves.

"Sanada?"

His ears perked at the sound of his name, which sounded oddly nicer when Echizen said it, and cleared his throat. "Echizen." Was all he could utter at the moment, after all. Not that anyone would have noticed.

"What are you doing here?" They asked at precisely the same time. Even the shakiness of their voices resonated, making them step back in surprise.

Sanada kept quiet, and it was Echizen who spoke first. "I was playing, obviously, since you were rudely watching me."

"And there I thought you didn't like playing tennis." He threw back. And Echizen's eye jerked immediately.

"I… don't."

"Ha. So you're playing here to annoy yourself?"

Echizen glared at him and Sanada, as always, kept his cool even when it was a little harder with this particular boy. "Don't you have anywhere to go to?" The raven-haired boy asked, "Aren't your parents worried? You didn't go home since earlier didn't you?"

He nodded and saw that he was wearing his school uniform. He then looked back at the boy who had already changed to a more casual attire. "What about you?"

"I told mother I'd be home before midnight."

He raised a brow. "And Yukimura?"

"He was already asleep when I left." He mumbled, slightly tilting his head away. "He was… tired."

"Are _you_ tired?"

"No. I just got here. Unlike you." Echizen said the last part with a sarcastic tone. "What have you been doing all these hours?"

"Doing what you were doing."

"That long?" The boy blinked and his eyes widened for a second at what seemed a realization he had forgotten. "Oh, right. I'd like to apologize to my master's behaviour. I know it was sudden but don't mind him."

_Turns out he was right._

"What are you hitting the wall for, Echizen?" He replied, hiding the disturbance well. Sanada knew that earlier that day, his losing the position he held on for so long was was the issue that bothered Echizen.

It made Sanada quite… pleased, really… and he was actually looking forward to their confrontation. But now that he saw that the boy forgot about the captainship issue, he couldn't help but feel worried for the boy. Especially, when his mind suddenly replayed his wall-hitting and saw the boy's expression.

"Echizen." He called again. The boy wasn't responding. "I'm fine, really. What about you?"

"I don't see why you'd reach the conclusion of me not being fine." Echizen said, arrogantly crossing his arms. "And _you're_ fine? Spending a few hours hitting balls to a wall makes you look okay?"

"Hai." He said, eyes twinkling with a smile even when his face said otherwise. "I'm fine _now_. Let me repeat my question. Are _you_ alright? Seeing you play tennis even when you 'hate' it."

And with that, Echizen's eyes twitched adorably again.

"Well—"

'_Wait a minute- what was with that last thought?'_, he mused, and he automatically stared at the boy who was rummaging his head for excuses.

"Echizen."

"What?" he said with the same tone as if he said 'What the heck is it _this_ time?'

"Wanna have a game with me?"

* * *

RIKKAI HIGH, The Next Day

It was a wonderful spring morning in the land of the rising sun, especially since it was living up to its name. Although it wasn't exactly dawn, some of the members actually got there at that time. The overtly excited trio of Niou, Marui, and Kirihara to be precise. Apparently, Marui convinced the two that they should get there earlier so they would still have time to rest as well as make sure their extra laps didn't disturb the actual practice schedule.

So there they were, slumbering under a large tree, being watched by their teammates.

Fortunately for them, _they_ (themselves) were the only ones who would dare do things like taking pictures and writing God-knows-what on the sleeping faces. So after being told by Sanada to go train, everyone dispersed and went on with what they were doing.

Well, aside from Sanada and Yanagi, who was writing vehemently on his brown notebook. "I wonder what they're here so early for?" Rikkai's data player asked, tilting his head slightly towards the former captain.

"Yukimura assigned them extra laps for disturbing him in his house yesterday." He said, slowly turning away to join the rest of the team. Yanagi only nodded and let out a very small smirk.

"I see." He uttered and stopped Sanada's movements due to his tone-of-voice, that even Sanada had to say was quite intimidating. After all, it always made Yanagi look like he was planning something. Sanada stared at him guardedly.

"What is it?" _This was probably what Echizen felt last night._

"I'm curious as to why you know this though."

"I have my sources." Sanada said dismissively then proceeded to the center courts. It was the court zone without fencing and where most of the tennis team stayed. Yukimura seemed to have arrived a minute prior and was then telling the team about his new regime.

Yanagi and Sanada, upon meeting eyes with Yukimura, went down to his side. "We will have longer practice sessions from now on. Weights would also be slightly increased if we see that you could take it. And…" he looked at the energetic trio, "Extra laps for those who deserve it."

"Oh, that's right." He added after a second of silence, and looked at him and Sanada, "We now have a fukubuchou. Sanada-kun?"

'_Sanada-kun?'_ Yanagi chuckled mentally. How that name, and tone, probably made the new fukubuchou cringe.

"Hai."

Yukimura held out his hand and smiled congenially, or so most thought. "I'll be looking forward to working with you." They then went for a handshake. "You're not exempted with my orders such as my laps though."

"Of course."

And only the regulars could see the lightning between them.

**…**

Morning training started not long after that, with the segregation of the regular, non-regular upperclassmen, and the freshmen seen rather visibly as they were distanced apart by zones. Overseeing the zones for the freshmen was Yanagi, Yukimura, and Sanada.

Actually, Sanada wasn't supposed to have been there. Yukimura said something like 'Please look after the regulars.', but Sanada made some excuse that as the former captain, he wanted to accompany his successor in his first appraising tour. It was true, of course, but he also wanted to know why this person disliked him so much.

That thought inevitably went to his hater's body guard. The loyal, and seemingly uncaring, Echizen Ryoma. That boy… he was not like any other he had met. Him having the same last name as his idol was beside the point. Why would someone like him, and someone so young, would be a body guard… and forbidden to play tennis, too, just because of his duties.

He could help but feel a twinge of pain for the boy. It wasn't quite pity. Echizen didn't need it. He really just wanted to help relieve the boy's burden. He was so young.

And charming.

He coughed by reflex.

"Is there anything wrong, _Sanada-kun_?"

"No."

Yanagi shrugged, and proceeded to whatever he and Yukimura were probably talking about. "His swings aren't bad. In fact I have to say his swings—and overall form—is actually quite good."

'_Who are you talking about?' _He asked Yanagi mentally, since it would reveal he wasn't paying attention. So he just looked at where they were looking at. It was at Echizen Ryoma.

"Potential, eh?" Yukimura said coolly, and habitually placed his hand under his chin in ponder. "Too bad he refused to play, then."

"Are you sure he doesn't play? That form. He's probably pretty good."

"Maybe."

"Ah." Sanada agreed, and that moment his and Yukimura's eyes met.

'_You have no idea.'_

**…**

Ryoma sighed mentally as she swung her racket continuously for several minutes straight, somewhat oblivious to the stares as she was too deep in her daze.

Ugh. How _boring_ this was…

Such basic, basic, movements. It was annoying—especially after her heated match with Sanada. She could recall that match as if it happened 2 seconds ago.

_Boink_

_Boink_

_Boink_

_The only sound she could hear at the moment was her dribbling, and her breathing. She was actually looking forward to this—more than she would like to admit._

"_You're a south paw?" Sanada asked as she did so, and she only nodded. _

"_Hai." After all, she knew when to use her left hand immediately. This person was probably one of the best players in their age group. _

"_Here I come." She said, and Sanada quickly hardened his stance. And Ryoma couldn't help it; she knew this would be an all-out match from the start by instinct. Especially now that she barely played with other people, she was beyond hyped-up. She already used one of her best moves: The Twist Serve._

_Sanada stood frozen, barely avoiding a direct hit. He then turned to the server, a barely traceable hint of amusement visible in his sharp dark orbs. "I don't understand why you want this hidden." _

"_I don't want Seichi to see." _

"_Were you forbidden?"_

"_In a sense."_

"_Ah, being ambiguous on purpose Echizen?"_

_She frowned and served. He missed it again. "Get your head in the game, Sanada."_

"_Ah." _

_And the next serve wasn't an ace, anymore. "I'm already used to a similar shot. It's only more violent." _

"_Kirihara's knuckle serve?"_

_He smirked. "That's right."_

"_Mine's sharper though."_

"_And more accurate."_

"_And better looking." She added. She could swear he chuckled at that. And for some reason, she saw him let his guard down for an instant and took advantage of it._

PAK!

_She made a return ace._

"_40-Love." She smirked, arrogantly pointing her racket to him. "Keep this up and it will be very embarrassing." _

**…**

Sanada and Yukimura stared for a very long second before Yanagi intervened. "Have you tried asking him to play before?"

"I think that's already implied, Yanagi-san."

"I see… Too bad he refused, then." He said, obviously intimidated as the other two would see considering the unusual furrow of his eyebrow. The bocchama's presence and mood would really take a while to get used to for them. Sometimes they wished they weren't so sensitive and observant so they could act as if he wasn't mad and didn't feel like he was going to kill them. Like Marui and Kirihara, their denseness could be lifesavers from time-to-time.

"Well, how long before have you tried? I don't mean anything by this, but this thought is for the team."

"I haven't asked him in years."

Yanagi blinked in surprise while Sanada remained stoic, which the other two did not take notice since he was always like that.

In truth though, he knew very well the master-servant pair did not challenge each other in tennis for the past few years.

"_Keep this up and it will be very embarrassing." Echizen smirked and so did he. You know, in his standards. Under that pompous stance of Echizen, Sanada kept his stern one._

_After all the third… or rather _fourth_ time was the charm, right?_

_Echizen seemed to have taken the challenge and served his amazing serve once more._

_**PAK!**_

_He let his reflexes take over and he stepped back, using his extremely quick swing to hit it without his opponent noticing it was already on his side of the court._

_Echizen blinked and his stance softened before gaping at him. "Eh…" he muttered, sounding quite impressed. _

_Sanada could not help but smirk. He was feeling quite elated at the moment, and he decided to push his luck. "Echizen." He paused. "If I beat you. Will you tell me?" _

_"..."  
_

"_You're my teammate now."He added as a-matter-of-factly before the boy could say anything else. It was his service game now, anyway, and he made it clear with his posture that he wasn't going to start if he didn't agree. _

"_Fine." Echizen said, after a long moment of silence. "It wasn't really a secret anyway." _

"_Good." He said and started dribbling the ball. His attention was caught by Echizen adding an apathetic 'Wait'._

"_What's in it for me?" _

_He paused his serve and stared. He tried to think of what this boy would want—which was actually quite hard since he didn't seem to care about anything other than tennis and… his master. Obviously, he wouldn't use Yukimura on anything so that would leave tennis. _

"_If you beat me… I can let go of this Yukimura-business and him purposely taking away my place."_

"_You realize that's none of my business."_

"_But you do… care, don't you?" He added. Kami, how he changed when he was with this boy._

"_Che. How low." Echizen added and proceeding to his receiving stance. "But only because Seichi's my responsibility and I would rather not have him have so many enemies."_

_And with that, Sanada threw up his tennis ball_

PAK!

"_Of course."_

_PAK!_

_Ryoma returned the serve. It was a very quick one, and he was obviously ready for it as he saw it with his and Yukimura's game already. _

"_I won't hold back. Even if you're playing for hours." Echizen said, obviously aware of his handicap. _

"_It's fine. I'm not that tired. I was only making light exchanges with the wall, anyway."_

_PAK!_

_This time, Sanada used all his strength. And he earned himself an ace. _

_Ryoma flinched at how quick that swing was and silently admired it. It didn't take long for her to get used to it, even with the dark. Actually, it was fortunate it was dark. She wouldn't focus so much on the swing- but the sound that it made. _

_Thank goodness kami gave her amazing hearing. It had gotten rusty, but still very impressive. All these years, she had only played with either her father (whom she still stood no chance) and the wall (which was, well, boring to play with). Playing with someone around the same level as you was exhilarating. _

_And as Sanada hit a ball past her, she smirked—as if she wasn't the one who lost a point._

"_Mada Mada Dane."_

…

Ryoma sighed as her racket hit air.

She lost that game 6 games to 4. She lost to a relatively tired Sanada. She really did get rusty hadn't she? Maybe it was time to start playing with others again. Playing with Sanada had been quite some fun.

Then it all came back to the issue that she lost.

She had gotten used to his amazingly quick shots. But his control and his instincts surpassed hers, simply because she lacked the experience of battling various types of players. He said it could have gone either way. Maybe if she played again for a few months she'd probably beat him.

_Tap Tap Tap_

"_You sound like a fisherman." She said. After all, he was luring her to play for the team now. _

_They were walking back at the time, and somehow Sanada got her to agree of him walking her home. "I do? I happen to like fishing." He said with a hint of amusement hidden well in his tone. "Besides, I don't think your reason is reason enough to let yourself get so rusty."_

_Yes, she had already told him her reasons. _

"_It_ had_ been a while since I played with someone I could beat. It was always either with my father or with a wall." She said, pretending to agree._

"_I'd try not to take that as an insult." Sanada nodded. "So how about it? Even if you didn't beat me, you can be a regular if you beat 2 of our main members. I'm certain you can do that." _

"_What faith in your team you have."_

"_I know they wouldn't lose to anyone outside the team." She looked down as a smile crept up her face.  
_

"_Speaking of your team. The three bakas went to us earlier and begged for your position." Sanada paused._

"_What?" And yes, he knew _precisely_ who she was referring to._

"_Seichi managed to convince them though. You're the fukubuchou now."_

"_Ha…" He said and went silence for a second before bowing like the traditional Eastern Asian that he was. "I apologize for the trouble they may have caused."_

_She smiled mentally at how sincere Sanada seemed to be all the time. She was always sincere, herself. Sincere as in blunt. And so her type of sincere wasn't quite as touching. In the end she shrugged and walked a step closer to Sanada to get his attention. "It's fine. They were assigned a nice amount of laps anyway." _

"_Ah." Was all he uttered and they continued on their way. They were undergoing a comfortable silence since then and before they knew it, they arrived at the Yukimura's gates. Sanada actually looked mildly impressed. _

"_Thanks for the walk home." She said, interrupting his gaping of the house, and went inside without further ado. "Ja."_

_And, after she walked several meters from the gate to the door and the opening was finally closed to the outside world, Sanada realized that the topic never quite made it back to Ryoma becoming a regular again._

**…**

The rest of the day was relatively normal. As usual, classes were too easy and thus made time run extremely slow. So when lunch came, Ryoma found herself seriously relieved even when she didn't show a hint of it. They ate their lunches quickly so they could still have a short game to push the food down.

Seichi was challenged by Kirihara and he accepted, since there really was no reason to refuse. Kirihara _had_ been bugging him (Seichi) endlessly throughout that morning- -_all_ the way til' the practice ended and even during the recesses. The teachers who asked Kirihara to go back to his year's corridors weren't enough to stop him.

She barely noticed him not bugging _her_ at all, which was unusual since he never quite failed to find an insult like 'small fry', 'little one', or 'Chibi-monkey' every single day.

Seichi decided to teach him a lesson due to his stubborness, and was thus crushing the sophomore once more.

"And I thought _my_ training was Spartan." Sanada said out-of-nowhere behind Ryoma. They were slightly apart from the others, and they easily ignored the curious stares of Yanagi and Yagyuu.

When Kirihara hit the knuckle serve, they shared a brief moment of mutual amusement that only their type of people could sense.

"Echizen." He whispered and as she looked at him, they were interrupted by Marui challenging his doubles partner for a match. The bald man agreed, and soon Rikkai's unbeatable pair joined in—battling each other.

"It's amusing to see doubles partners battle each other."

"Hai. They know each other well. One's partners is one's greatest opponent."

"Other than oneself."

"Hai." Sanada nodded. "Have you played doubles before?"

"Ie."

"You're missing out on a lot, Echizen." He said but the boy didn't answer. He mused that maybe he didn't like speaking of his secrets in such public place. So he sighed. "Want to go for a walk? Your master's pretty well taken care of, anyway."

"I don't mind." She just answered and followed him as he turned away from the courts.

They soon ended up in a balcony where they could still see the matches, though. And this made her smile. Sanada knew her well.

"Is this a good spot?"

"Hai." She admitted and proceeded to watching the games again. She watched him play and how he turned inside the court. Actually it was his true self. It was why she loved seeing him in the courts, and a reason why she (in a paradoxical way) disliked even thinking of her being on the other side.

Even when a part of her wanted to play with him, another part knew it just didn't feel right. He was pushing her away, and her seeing that part of him so directly just seemed… awkward.

"He could be quite terrifying once inside the court. Does he have a split personality?"

"No. That's how he really is. He was just trained to look gentle on the outside, he's genuinely a kind person though. Most of the time." Maybe it was why he became so serious on the court, because he was so limited outside of it.

"Do you see it often?" he meant this 'kind' demeanor, the sincere one. He didn't like how Echizen said it, but what could he say?

"I haven't seen it at all for years." She answered sardonically making him flinch. It was then that she suddenly changed the topic. Rather unconsciously, mind you, considering how she tended to blabber things when she suddenly got nervous.

"He loved tennis, very much. But well, to Seichi, Tennis is like a battlefield." Plus, the very first tennis training he had was from her dad. And he had to pound quite a bit of things during the few weeks he was teaching.

"We have similar views then." Sanada answered, earning himself an unknowingly pretty—and yet sad—smile from the other.

"Uhn. You two should get along." She said, and she saw Sanada's eyes to twitch at the statement.

"To him, losing is unacceptable." He had only lost to Nanjiroh, and she was certain that like her he was aiming to beat the monk.

"Same with me, then." He repeated before firming his gaze. "What about you? You like tennis don't you? Isn't it obviously time?"

She sighed. Ryoma already told him that her father forbade her to play with Yukimura at first because it was, well, rude. Their skill levels were too far apart then. Nanjiroh said something about waiting for a fair match. And although the man didn't lie, she was certain it wasn't the complete truth either.

But at the time… she didn't have the right to refuse.

So she agreed, and eventually got used to the idea of just watching Yukimura grow. But when that 'time' finally came, they had already been far apart. They both loved tennis so much, that their relationship—as it was- rendered them unable to seek the other out for a challenge.

In a sense, it was an awkward tension whenever they consider it… and yet, not quite. The dilemma rooted a little deeper than that mere awkward feeling that indicated a want leaning for self-preservation.

So, with that they entered yet another silence. But it wasn't as comfortable as it usually was anymore.

* * *

Sanada stared at the smaller figure beside him, rummaging his mind for a good topic. It was hard, really, since he was never the talkative type. When nothing came, he just decided to let his mind wander until the tension had disappeared. He flatly watched the game and so did Echizen.

Mentally, he sighed. The thoughts tended to return to issues regarding his current companion. He couldn't help but try and analyze the boy's situation and try to find out how he could help. He had always been the one who kept problems to himself, and was not quite the empathic type. But, he somehow knew that this 'awkwardness' could be fixed if those two just spoke their wills out.

"It was awkward, I know, but didn't you try to make it work?"

"Oh we did. But why are you focusing on this? Aren't _you_ supposed to fix _your_ relationship with him? The buchou and fukubuchou are supposed to get along." Echizen said and Sanada mentally shook his head at his attempt to change the topic.

"So are a master and his body guard."

"Che. But that's kind of beside the point." He replied, as if _he_ didn't try to go beside the point himself. Sanada sensed this wasn't going to be easy, so he let his sight go back to the game. The bluenette was crushing his kohai again, but he just took it as yet another lesson in humility for the team's next pillar of support.

"That bocchama hates me, it seems." He just said, stating a rather obvious truth.

"Because he called you, _Sanada-kun_?"

An invisible smile crept up his face. "You know what I mean. For some reason, that person hated me too quickly."

"Oh he did."

He then shifted his gaze towards the boy again. "Do you know what he's thinking?"

Echizen shook his head, but tried to guess regardless. "Maybe… it's because you two are both Alphas?"

Sanada could not help but chuckle. It was very quiet, but it definitely happened.

"Echizen." He said, still smiling. "You see us as Monkeys?"

"Baboons, to be more precise."

"Ha. I'm glad you have so much respect for me." He said and he could swear his heart stopped when the boy laughed. Like his, it was abrupt and inconspicuous. But it was beautiful to Sanada all the same.

But before he could utter anything else, Echizen turned to the courts and saw the team's already dispersing. Heck, the bocchama wasn't even there anymore. "Lunch time's ending."

Sanada knew he was no match.

This boy would leave him in the speed of sound when he realized that his master's gone. "..Ah."

**…..**

Ryoma quickly walked to the courts with Sanada behind her. Their distance increased to a good amount some part of the way since she was really in quite a hurry. Considering the stressful moments these last few days, she would rather not be scolded by Seichi. So she hurried.

"Ah. Your senses have depreciated, not even sensing me here." She paused and turned to where the familiar voice came from. It was Seichi and he was leaning over a wall near the fountain. She reflexively looked behind her and looked at Sanada who was coincidentally pulled away by Kirihara and Marui. She and Sanada were now positioned in a way they couldn't see each other as a wall was in the way. It didn't seem that the troublesome trio noticed her or Seichi nearby, either.

She turned back to her master a second later. "Gomen Nasai." Was all she said. Seichi opened his mouth to speak, expression once again that calm and 'gentle' mask that everyone was too used to see. But before any sound was made, they heard the other three's conversation from behind the wall. Their ears perked at their tones.

"Gomen Nasai, Sanada-buchou."

"For what?"

"It was our fault you lost your position. If we didn't start betting, maybe the bocchama wouldn't get the idea—"

"Nonsense. We're a team and that's that."

Echizen internally smiled at his reply and the conviction that accompanied it. She almost missed the fact that Seichi was already walking towards the three, probably for a confrontation. He had always been like that after all. He disliked being talked about behind his back, and he was going to do something about it if he could help it.

There was nothing wrong with that belief. But those three weren't exactly talking behind his back. They were just apologizing to a friend.

"But—" Kirihara paused, sounding guilty as ever, and Marui was just there sniffing or something. Ryoma quickly ran to her master's side and grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Don't." She whispered and pulled him back to ensure none of the other three would hear her voice. "Please."

"Want to eavesdrop?" He whispered back ironically and she nodded. She was not going to allow him to ruin any chances of reconciling with these people because of his misapplied principles.

It was then that Sanada continued speaking. "We're not baboons, not really. There can be two alphas."

Ryoma realized at that moment that she was still holding his hand. She noticed because his hand perked up at the sound of 'baboons' and 'alphas'. Their hands were entwined too tightly that neither was able to let go. So Ryoma just decided to keep her calm and took advantage to fix things, and to support Sanada's statement.

"There can, you know. **You can't always be the only one**." She said and this earned her a rather ambivalent glare from him.

"What do _you _know?" he asked, frowning at her deeply. She didn't get the question—or why somehow it felt out-of-context- but she stood firm, and forced her weakening legs to remain that way as well.

"Why are you being so stubborn? I know you like these people, are you willing to alienate them by being possessive of your position?"

"You're talking back now?"

"I'm surprised I took so long to get started again." She said, with finality, making Seichi's hold on her hand soften considerably. She took the chance to separate from him completely, ignored the slight feeling of disappointment in her gut, and glared.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but she was interrupted (a lot of people got interrupted that day) by the three coming their direction, looking quite confused, anxious, and scared for their lives.

She honestly didn't know what to say anymore so she looked at the four boys alternatively. "Better fix this issue, or the team may lose it's top position." She paused and took as much oxygen as she could. "I'm going back to the room."

She turned, but before taking one more step. "No. I won't get lost."

And with that, she walked away—keeping her dignity intact.

As she liked it.

**…**

The four boys were left there in silence until Yukimura cleared his throat to go to the changing room. "We're going to be late." He said, and just a few meters away from the others. He heard Sanada faintly say something.

The former captain said: "Make that three." And this made him frown.

Sanada and Ryoma seemed to have misinterpreted the term. Alpha meant 'the best', and there could only be one 'best', that's why it was a superlative term in the first place. Yukimura had been trained to be 'the best'- in _anyone's_ standards (including a certain body guard's)- and truthfully, it hadn't been that hard.

Until now.

But when that surge of annoyance turned to something more negative, he recalled the face Ryoma showed a few minutes prior. That boy was no longer taking things passively anymore, something that was uncharacteristic for him already as it was, anyway, but it still surprised him.

He passively looked at his left hand. The hand still warm from the boy's touch. How ironic that a second after that, the advent of losing the boy suddenly hit him. He felt anxious, in a degree more than he dared to admit.

What if Ryoma finally decided to leave him?

_Tap Tap Tap_

He continued on his way, only to stop 3 steps later. He mused and soon a deeper frown crept up his angelic face. Why would he care? He had been pushing him away for years now. Considering he was too… considerate to openly fire him, could it be that he just wanted him to resign himself?

Probably. Most likely.

And so he continued on his way, and he dismissed the troublesome line of thought as if it was a fly.

**.**

**END OF CHAPTER 7**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER 8: Games**

* * *

**REPLIES TO ANGELS**

**DragonFire Princess- **Thank you. hehe. They will, they will! And about Ryoga... he'll appear again, just not so soon. ^^ thanks for the comment~**  
**

**Soul Vrazy-** Aahaha. I won't tell youuu~ XD And hope the choice of who did see her was fine~ lol. Thank you for the comment~! **  
**

**TunaForDesert-** Banzai for Niouuu! ahaha Ryoga won't be appearing for a while though, and LOL. Mad scientist?! Ahaha. Unusual reaction over there. XD Thanks for the comment!

** Guest [11/13/12]- **Glad you agree on chibi Ryoma's cuteness! XD And yeah, if you've already read the chapter you'll see your guesses are somewhat right. haha. Thx for the comment~**  
**

**PurpleScorpion-** I know, darned cliffhanger! And late update too! Please kill me. T_T And about the Ryoga thing, I just added it in for a little hint. XD Your confusion is natural. ;) And thanks for the luck~ I knowI'm gonna need it. haha. Oh, thanks for the review!**  
**

**shanagi95- **Got it. Three men it is! That'll be the maximum tho. XD A fight scene seems interesting (and bound to happen with a plot like this) Let's see what happens! haha. thx for the comment. ;)

**Natasya Ivashkov- **Haha. It's cute you thought of Tezuka when you're thoughts were going to Sanada. XD They're really alike, huh?lol. Thanks for the comment!**  
**

**Minato-kun Lover- **Thank you for the review! And I'm so sorry this was late! It was longer than the other chaps so hope the wait was wooorth it! D:) hehe.**  
**

**MintLeafeon- **Tenennen! You're right! haha. I just can't help myself with characters like Sanada or tezuka. XD for the comment~ (:D**  
**

**kuragirl93- **Eh? *blushes* I'm happy to hear that~! XD Ah, Thanks for reading and sure do hope this update was good enough as well~! Haha. Thanks for the review, too, btw~**  
**

**Yuki Masaharu-**Future twist...? Which one? LOL. I won't, I won't! XD And how can I forget to update with such lovely readers supporting this story?! ahaha. And thanks for the comment! **  
**

**Wolf D. Dragon-** Thank you for the review~! And it is an honor to meet one of Dragon's relatives. haha *bows***  
**

**FrancoiseLaraLapis-** Lol, yeah! XD Who can imagine those three being awkward for long? Haha. The short story arc on Ryoga won't happen any time soon, though, and thanks for the review!**  
**

**Mutsumi Ayano- **No, no. The Ryoga thing wasn't the only reason she became a guard, it only allowed for the option. ;) And you were dead right about who saw her play! XD Thx for the review~

**Kupuuru-** Fufufu~ I'll keep Seichi in the dark for a while, ne? I'm liking Sanada for now since I've been a hardcore Pillar pair fan for a while. XD Thx for the comment~**  
**

**HiBirdSong- **It's the guy with the cap! Haha. Sorry it took so long to update. T_T Hope you liked this anyway, and thx for the comment!**  
**

**WhitewingsFlutter- **Glad you thought so, and Yep. Ryoma's a guy name and I've been using Reina on all my fem! Ryoma fics so I got used to that. XD But I do agree Ryoma sounds way better. Haha. Thx for the review~**  
**

**Darkspider-**Others noticed! Oh no- Yukimuraaaaaa. Hahaha. And cool! You have cats! We're not allowed to have one here. T_T. So many possibilities, indeed! I decided to keep it in Rikkai for a bit longer tho. And the wish of more cap pair moments, granted. ;) Thx for the review~**  
**

**Lilly- t**hanks for the review! And I'm glad you think so! Sadly,I'd be prolonging Yukimura's obliviousness for a while. XD**  
**

**Desi- **Happy you think it's a good story! I hope you still do and thanks for the review. Aahahha**  
**

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**...**

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Thanks for your time!  
But please pause for a little longer, and let me have the pleasure of reading what you thought.  
I love reading any sort of feedback from readers~ :)


	8. Train

Thank you so so so so much for reading this far! T_T Special Thanks to those who reviewed, Fav'ed, subscribed, and/or C2d. It's really nice of you guys to spend extra minutes to let me know your thoughts. XD **  
**

**WARNING: **Focus is still on the Cap Pair. Hehehe. Gomen, Gomen.

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

**OT: **For my RyomaXReina readers, I'd be putting the story in a (SHORT) hiatus. Primarily to avoid clogging the update queue for a little while... Gomen. It'll be short though! Ah, for those who do not know who Amou Nami is, she is a nice girl, so please don't expect her effect on the Pillar pair be those of classic villainess .

* * *

…

* * *

**CHAPTER 8: Train**

RIKKAI HIGH

"Marui-kun, play a match with Kirihara."

"Yanagi-kun, please guide the freshmen on how to properly do back swings."

"Ah, Hudou-kun, you need to do push-ups. Please do 50. Now."

"Niou-kun, do stop horsing around."

"That group over there with Imai-kun? Run 20 laps now."

And they did just that.

Echizen Ryoma mentally whistled at Japan's number one team's lack of resistance. Only a day had passed since Yukimura's first day (as captain) and Ryoma concluded that everyone was already used to him. These people must be incredibly used to being bossed around. And she was just looking at the few non-regulars running around far from the courts.

Her ears jerked at the sound of footsteps that she only heard when it was already a meter away. She slightly tilted her head to see who it was. She found a very small mental smile creeping up her face.

"You're right." The just-arrived Sanada said, apparently knowing what she was thinking about. "We _are_ similar."

"Uh-huh."

"He's milder when it came to actual wording, though."

"Told you so." She paused. "And probably less loud."

Sanada's eye twitched and started retorting. "Do I look like I-" He paused as a freshman with an odd hairstyle passed by. "_Oi! Freshman! You don't go and pick balls up just to let it fall on the ground outside of_ courts!" he frowned before returning to their conversation._ "_- - -shout a lot?"

"Hai." She said, smirking at the trembling freshman as he ran towards the storage room. She felt slightly sorry for him, though. Maybe his ice cream-styled hair would be a consolation.

Soon enough, another player went to their direction. This time to call in a gathering. They walked towards the main courts and soon saw Seichi go to the middle of the courts and called everyone to line up.

"We will have free practice this morning. But after school, we will start training that focus on improving specific skills like Reflexes, Reaction time, and Hearing." He paused, looking straight at her and Sanada's direction, but seemed not to care and continued on like they weren't even there.

"These activities will last for the remaining of this week, and today we will focus on your footwork and general movements so don't over-tire yourself." He paused again. "That is all."

But as she turned around, Seichi called everyone's attention by adding a few more instructions.

"And freshmen, and the freshman-by-age, return to cleaning up the courts. You will help Yanagi-san with setting up the areas." He said, looking specifically at her. "Understood?"

"Hai!"

* * *

**Thursday: Reflex**

Echizen Ryoma was really just doing as she was told in peace. She liked to be in a daze when she was doing such tedious work, but then _someone_ just _had _to have the guts to speak with her.

"Ano… Etsuzen-san… mind if I join you?" _Yes. _She mentally answered, too lazy to open her mouth. And,_ 'Etsuzen'?_

"Who are you?" She asked, realizing that unlike basically all the non-regular student in the school, she actually recognized the boy. It was because he had a very… peculiar hairstyle. Peculiar in an interesting way. His head looked like an inverted (and bright orange) ice cream cone.

"Ah. My name is Shiita Urayama, de yansu."

"Ha." She just uttered and looked at the items around her she was asked to set-up. A number of traffic cones placed at specific intervals were there. She did not need help, and the fact that she was being offered help for such a banal task was offending.

"I don't think I need your help."

"I-I know!" He flinched. "I was just asking if I could accompany you. All the work's done and this is the only part left."

She blinked. It was true. It was probably because she did this alone, and everyone of the freshmen were afraid of her. Not only because she was, technically, their senpai, but she knew she sent out a strong 'don't bother me' aura.

"I see." She shrugged and pointed at a column of baskets. "Set that up."

The boy grinned, and she finally noticed that seemingly fixed blush on the boy's cheek. He grinned just before going to the baskets.

"Hai!"

**…**

Later, all the sophomores and seniors were asked to go to the middle courts where the set-ups were placed. Seichi stood beside the part with her traffic cones while she, and the freshmen, stood at a relatively sad distance away from the training set-ups.

She and the freshmen were asked to stand-by both to watch as well as to be ready whenever some cleaning-up needed to be done. Random freshmen were also chosen to throw and replace the balls where Seichi, Sanada (where _was _that guy), and Yagyuu deemed fit.

Fortunately, Ryoma was let off and she went to the fountain to have a drink only to return to watch a rather interesti- -_no_, repetitive activity of , yes, repetitive and uninteresting...

_Uninteresting_...

There were numbers on each cone and Yagyuu would shout a number (quickly and consecutively) and the guy had to get there before Yagyuu said another number.

There were 3 such set-ups, 2 for a lower level set up and then if Yagyuu thought the player could handle the harder more challenging traffic cone set-up then the player would move there. Yanagi diligently recorded everything.

_Yes, uninteresting._ She repeated in her head.

A few non-regulars tried it out, and being Rikkai players they weren't particularly bad, soon Niou took the limelight. The regulars immediately went to the higher level set-up.

"1." Yagyuu said monotonously to his doubles partner. The silver-head was standing on the 7th cone, about 30 degrees from the first, but Niou unsurprisingly got there in a little over 2 seconds. A nanosecond after he reached '1', Yagyuu said '7' as if teasing him. Niou got back even faster, impressing most of the players.

"Interesting, isn't it?" a voice from beside her said out of the blue. She barely noticed him, and now that she thought about it, he wasn't where he was supposed to be.

"No." She lied. She even scoffed to make her point.

"Technically you're no longer a freshman. I'm sure they'd allow you to try if you ask." He paused. "And maybe play a bit."

"No thanks."

"Stubborn kid."

"Stubborn Old man."

"…"

Sanada stared at her for a moment before he started speaking in a very low voice. "Echizen. About yesterday…"

"He's fine."

It was then she caught him looking at the bluenette. "You two seem even more distant, though."

She shrugged, but the intuitive and sensitive Sanada could probably tell she was feeling the opposite of indifference. But what could she do? She never did find a logical reason to confront Seichi about it… and Kami knew she tried before, years ago, and she didn't know if she wanted to place herself on a guillotine now.

"You're getting left back."

"Haven't I already?"

"You're willing to keep it that way?" She didn't answer. But then, after letting out an even more serious expression (who would have thought it was possible?), Sanada cleared his throat. If Ryoma didn't know how stoic he was, she would probably deduce immediately he was nervous.

"I'll always be in the courts at that time of night."

"You are?"

"…hai." He said, slowly turning away. "If you don't have anything better to do, you can come and challenge me any time."

And with that, he inconspicuously went back to the crowd down the courts- -soon trying the set-up himself.

* * *

**Friday: Senses**

The next day the new set up was pretty interesting. Since she had no talent in drawing, a few other more gifted freshmen were asked to draw grids on the open court grounds. The arrangement reminded her of a chess-board which it probably was. Two such set-ups, for the sake of time, was made. Seichi and Yagyuu, once again, were in-charge of each one. This time, Sanada was unavailable due to his extra council work that he needed to finish.

"You will be rendered blind by these." Yanagi explained, raising a freaking sleeping mask. "Yagyuu or Yukimura will throw a shot with varying quality, and by the sound of the hit, you will judge where it lands." He paused and took down the mask. "The grids are there to be guides so you could memorize the places easily."

_Interesting_, Ryoma mused. She wanted to try _this_ out, no use denying that. But then a millisecond of glimpsing at Seichi made her change her mind immediately.

Seichi was not looking at her direction, and this pushing-away thing had gotten worse. It didn't come as a shock, but still. She pondered long and hard every night and she soon lost precious sleep.

Eventually, she came to a possibility. That Seichi was thinking of making her quit so that he wouldn't have to fire her.

Well, that stung—again. Not that any other probable reason wouldn't.

"Hey." She flinched. Damnit. This guy had a knack in sneaking up on her. Then again, she was in a daze—but still.

No wonder Seichi wanted her away.

"You seem tired. Your eyebags got bigger."

"Must be the sun."

Sanada sighed. "You're not going to admit you're losing sleep, now, are you."

She stared. "I wasn't the one who asked me to play with him."

"I didn't ask you. You came there yourself. I merely told you where I was. Besides…" He paused, and Ryoma sensed that flinch as he slowly turned away again. "We finished up early."

She couldn't tell him she was losing sleep over anxiety on the Seichi matter, now could she?

And as if on cue, Kirihara yelled catching their attention. It was not supposed to be so loud because the court was a little far. Kirihara just had a big mouth.

"YATTA! I got 2!" He yelled pertaining to getting a shot from Yanagi and hitting his return. It was not an easy task, but Niou just had to be the glorious bubble-popper for his kouhai.

"But Yanagi hit those two shots directly at you." he said and Kirihara frowned in offense.

"No, he didn't!"

Yanagi nodded in agreement. "That's right. I varied it a bit."

"See?"

"By 2 degrees."

"HAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAH!"

Sanada let out an invisible smirk and looked at his companion. Echizen, too, was smirking. He had to push his luck. "Well, isn't it about time to join us in the trainings? It's fun."

"No."

"How long are you going to run away?"

"I am not running away. I was merely keeping my tennis a secret."

"And why are you doing that again?"

"I felt like it."

Sanada sighed and knowing the boy would not speak anymore, he walked to the courts to let his presence known to the team. But then he felt a slight tug behind him and it surprised him.

"I'm not running away." Echizen repeated. Like a child who wouldn't be able to rest until his point had been understood. Sanada stared at him, not quite knowing what to say. Neither of them noticed someone was running toward them.

"Etsuzen-san~!" It was the ice-cream freshman, Shiita. The bot blinked the moment his eyes landed on his extended shirt pulled by no other than the stoic Echizen Ryoma. Echizen let go of his hold an instant later, and the weird-headed freshman bowed to him.

"Fukubuchou."

Sanada caught Echizen's stare, and considering how awkward this would be... he could only do what he was (mentally) told to do.

That was, to fly away.

**…**

Ryoma sighed and watched Sanada's back with her peripheral view, with her face facing the brave freshman who saw her little embarrassment.

"You and the fukubuchou are so close." He said and she automatically whipped her gaze towards him. "I think _I_ would faint if _I_ were to touch him."

Her eyes twitched at that. "You're creeping me out."

"Eh?"

"Are you gay?"

At that short sentence, the boy's face became crimson red. He could only stare at her, and after a long while of stuttering, the boy finally got a hold of himself. "A-Ano… please don't be so loud."

"Ha." She sighed. "And you're inlove with Sanada?"

She could swear icecream-boy was going to have a nosebleed soon if she kept on asking him these things. The boy just wildly waved his hand in denial at the moment, though.

"N-NO! I just admire him. Very much."

"Ha…" she uttered again. "Why were you calling me again?"

"I was asked to call you by…" he gulped, for some reason he looked more nerv- -"By the buchou."

She could only flinch and she reflexively looked around. She realized that Seichi was looking right at her. She frowned.

Honestly? She was seriously thinking of getting rid of all this nerves Seichi seemed to have a knack on tapping.

* * *

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

They got back home in relative silence, and once again Seichi headed directly to his bedroom after dinner, claiming he was to finish up one of his training menus. For a moment there, she wanted to ask (or rather, chat) about it but his tone very well told her he wanted to be alone.

But only a few steps up, he paused and looked at her. "You're becoming too lax on your job, Ryoma."

Her heart paused.

"Better start thinking of ways not to disappoint me."

And with that, he left her there standing alone.

* * *

**_PAK!_**

PAK!

"I don't _get_ him."

_PAK!_

"You didn't strike me as a push-over. Most of the time, anyway."

She frowned. "I'm his bodyguard, what _could_ I do?"

Sanada sighed and hit the ball lightly. They were only having a light rally at the moment. "You two…" he initiated,"…didn't quite emit that kind of aura. Not exactly, anyway."

"Pardon?"

"He emits the aura that he's the boss of you, and you follow his every wish."

"Well I do."

"Why? Isn't this just family tradition? Didn't you mention the supposed duration already ended."

"I'm an exception. I won't stop until I was asked to."

"Ha..." He sighed and she hit a lob. "What about if you think about it this way-" he paused upon smashing, which she actually got, but he returned it with a swift shot. At this rate she was going to lose a _third_ time. But her chances were becoming larger though, so it was a start. " - -if you help strengthen the team by joining the regular members, wouldn't he be happy?"

_Pak_

She felt silent, and finally an answer came out. "No."

"That's just being stubborn." Sanada said seriously, and hit the incoming shot. "And why are you so scared?"

"I'm not scared."

_PAK!_

"Sure, you aren't." he said ironically. "What is with these tsundere moments of yours?"

_Twitch_

She gritted her teeth in annoyance and hit a strong shot, which he finally was unable to get. "Why are you being so nosy? Can't we just focus on the game?" She huffed. "And Four games to Three."

"You're the only one out of focus, Echizen." He said as if he didn't just lose a game. She shook her head at him and guardedly watched him dribble. He threw the ball up, and judging by his stance, their light rally was going to end now.

_**PAK!**_

"Honestly though, knowing how blunt you could be—why not tell him?"

_**PAK!**_

"No reason."

_**PAK!**_

"And we're back to you being afraid of something."

_**PAK!**_

"No, I'm not!" _This conversation was going nowhere!_

_**.**_

_**BAM!**_

And she won a point with her cyclone smash. It certainly made Sanada freeze, especially since it was the first time he saw it. Ryoma did not realize she was slipping up in a way she would not have imagined: That she would snap.

"If I tell you…" she huffed in annoyance (her cool was nowhere to be found)."…that I'm afraid to part with him, what will you say?"

It made him freeze deeper, and her frown did not soften up a bit.

_That oughta shut him up for a while._

And, fortunately or unfortunately, it _did_.

* * *

**Saturday: Weights **

That day, it was announced that they would increase weights. She and the freshmen were carrying the boxes to the courts. (Seriously, they were the poor servants).

"Sugoi, Etsuzen-san!" Shiita, once again, muttered beside her. And yes, no one would call her senpai. "You can carry a box that would usually take 3 of us alone!"

She ignored him and continued walking. Considering her continuing lack of sleep, and a nosy Sanada, she wasn't in her best mood.

When all the boxes were in their places, she walked relatively far away (again) from the crowd and climbed up the little hill to reach ground level (since, after all, the center courts were in a depressed area) to see everything. She was in a relatively out-of-sight place. Not hidden, just not in the general line-of-sight. She needed to start taking her job seriously, after all. Not that she didn't before…

_What if I say I'm afraid to part with him?_

An embarrassing little line that was and she couldn't help but blush (and roll around in bed when she's laid down), but was quick to push away in public. _Did she mean that?_ It came out before she thought about it. It was a slip-up.

But scientifically speaking, when one 'slips-up' he would say something he/she felt unconsciously.

So she did mean it, after all?

"Etsuzen-san~" Icercream-kid called her again, ruining her pondering moment. Can't everyone just be freaking quiet?

"You're noisy." She said. It sounded like 'Leave me alone' and after the boy stepped back, apologizing, and stuttering, Ryoma finally realized how mean it sounded.

But would she apologize? She was much too hard-headed for that.

"Shiita." She just said failry sure that was his name, making him pause. "I just needed some quiet."

And to her relief, the boy's expression softened dramatically.

"A-Ah."

**…**

The day went on, and so did the training. Basically the activities then were extra laps and they still played games with each other, but the weights increased as the hours went by. For the non-regulars, the short break-times were torturous. And to think their weights were much lesser than those of the regulars.

It had been a rather… stressful day for Ryoma. That tension with Seichi (_and_, now for some reason, Sanada) was starting to get to her. No one seemed to have noticed this, even Yagyuu and Yanagi, and she just continued with her banal swinging practice along with the other freshmen.

Such repetitive activities seriously could not distract her enough.

But what else could she do but try?

* * *

Meanwhile..., on one semi-peaceful moment on the borders of a random court, Sanada Genichirou sighed again unconsciously.

"Is there something wrong, Genichirou?" It was Yanagi, and he was going around with him as he gathered his data. He shook his head in denial.

But the fact was, there was definitely something wrong. Something big, actually, and this realization(s) disconcerted him. At first, he was just shocked at the fact that Echizen genuinely cared for Yukimura—more so than he had imagined.

More than being just someone professionally in-charge of protecting him…

Then the line of thought ended up as to _why_ he felt like that—and why he was shocked in a different way. This shock was mixed with anxiety, and to his surprise, annoyance.

He remained that way, but almost no one noticed, all the way until classes ended.

And a few hours later…?

He found himself on the tennis courts once again venting the confusion on the wall.

It was a dark and cold night, but he barely felt it. He was sweating buckets, but he didn't bother noticing it at all.

And yet he was beyond uncomfortable.

"You seem annoyed." Someone just _had_ to point out. He paused and he effortlessly maneuvered the ball so that it would land on his palm.

_'Annoyed?' _He looked sarcastically at his seemingly oblivious new companion. '_You don't say…?'_

Sure, he forgot Echizen might just come and see him but he didn't show it. But still, Kami knew he needed to be away from this person for a while. Sadly, Kami thought he didn't deserve to be left alone and so Sanada took all his will power to catch his composure.

Again, Echizen didn't seem to notice his inner war (or probably concluding it as a hype for battle), and nonchalantly placed his bag to where it usually was and took a racket. This time, he pointed at him his racket.

"I'll beat you this time." He paused. "If you stop cheating, that is."

"Pardon?"

"Stop talking."

"You get distracted by those conversations?"

"…"

"Hmn…" Sanada said in his usual appraising tone and Echizen's eyes jerked in annoyance.

"Just play with me."

**…**

_An Hour Later  
_

_BAM!_

"Wha-"

The last ball landed on Echizen Ryoma's side of court, much to her utter shock. Well, not really.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaarn it." Ryoma sighed in exasperation basically dropping dead on the bench. She didn't have the energy to even lift the back of her neck on the bench's backrest. Sanada sat beside her and was breathing deeply.

"It was a close match." Sanada said, looking at her and she lazily turned her head to his direction. She was feeling the coldness of the bench's wooden board.

"I still lost."

"But these past few days, I have to admit you're improvement's astounding. No one could make me reach the tiebreaker with the time you had to get rid of those rust."

"Thank you." Was all she could huff. Sanada let out a small smile and relaxed more on the bench, making her lose more of her guard. Her eyes were getting tired…

"I'm wondering. How could you genuinely care for a person who showed you nothing but coldness?" Sanada asked out-of-nowhere, making her blink, but not enough to entice adrenaline to make her shift positions. She barely moved. Did she fall asleep when he was speaking and somehow it ended up to this issue?

"Did I miss something?"

"What?"

"Where did that come from?"

"…I was just wondering." He said. "Even I get curious at my team mate's inconsistencies. The only difference with you two was that we just met."

She stared at him not quite sure how much of that was true, and why it felt like an understatement. It probably was, but she didn't have the energy to pry nor was it anything dangerous. So she heaved a sigh and stared at the stars, as if they would make her remember more clearly.

"He wasn't like that before." She whispered. "He had been gentle to me. It all disappeared one day, and I couldn't make myself ask him why. Our parents kept bugging me about it, and it just made me more determined _not_ to ask.

She closed her eyes for a bit. "Stupid parents."

"So you stayed with him and waited for that side of him to show again?"

"It always showed on a superficial level. You know that. People always thought of him as 'kind and gentle'." She said and she felt her hand shift slightly, but her body was still dead tired. She was surprised she could still speak coherently. "But… they never actually saw him truly as they thought."

"I see." Then there was a pause. "And now you think that if he found out you can play tennis, he would hate you even more?"

"He wouldn't like me lying to him."

"But this isn't exactly life-threatening. If anything—it's highly personal." He paused, looking away. It was good for her since she wasn't sure what her face was showing. Sanada continued on pointing out things she'd rather not have anyone know.

Sanada let silence pass by for a while, and he took advantage of it to contain his composure. He didn't want to ask this, but he knew he had to point it out…

"So if he did get mad…," he said, eyes jerking due to whatever was eating his gut. "Doesn't that just mean he cared for you enough to... let this issue matter?"

He didn't look at the boy when he said that and waited for a second or so before turning. The boy was staring at him in surprise, as if he didn't consider this at all. For such a pompous person, he truly looked down upon himself when it came to Yukimura. This fact irritated him more than he would deem proper.

But then… the boy smiled.

_Doki_

Was it just him, or were Echizen's smiles—as rare as they might came- -became prettier every time he saw it?

But in the end, Echizen's smile turned sardonic, and he scoffed. "Heh. I wish."

"But a part of you is hoping he'd get mad."

Echizen frowned, visibly tired, and this conversation even if it did interest him probably only stressed him more. But in the end, Echizen just let out an arrogant frown at him. "And now you're saying I'm afraid that he _wouldn't_."

"I'm not saying anything."

"You were thinking it."

And with that, a long wave of comfortable silence passed them. Sanada assumed he was pondering…

But then the uncertainly was stopped, a minute later, when he felt a weight on his shoulders. Literally.

His eyes widened. It was Echizen. He fell asleep on his shoulders. He pushed down his blush and maneuvered himself so he could shake him awake. But his gentle shakes did no good. He must have been very tired, and a very deep sleeper. And now, he realized, it was probably because of that bluenette who may, or may not, care about him.

But as he held the boy's (softer and slimmer than anticipated) shoulders, he blushed further but was quick to shake it away. There was no reason to be embarrassed now was there?

And then when Echizen shifted slightly, the street light illuminated something on his head.

He batted his heavier than usual eyelids, and his hand slightly waving some of the boy's hair to get a better look.

He stared at the slumbering boy for a _long_ minute filled with incredulity and confusion. He didn't know what to think now.

For... why in the world would_ Echizen Ryoma_ be wearing a _wig_?

.  
.

**END OF CHAPTER VIII**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER IX: Rankings**

* * *

**...**

* * *

**REPLIES TO ANGELS**

**FudoYuki- **Yes, yes he should. XD It'll take a while for that lil' change to occur though. Hehe. Thank you for the comment~!**  
**

**MintLeafeon- **Yep. Stoic people together are too cute. XD I can't _not_ make them good friends. Hahahaha. And the captain and headaches? lol. Thank you for the comment!**  
**

**TunaForDesert-** I'm pretty sure it'll reach at least 20 chapters. Banzai!XD I won't comment on Atobe *cough*. I'm glad you liked the chapter and hope I can do better someday soon. haha. Thanks for the review!**  
**

**shanagi95- **Hahah. That's true, we all miss his wit. Darn Yukimura and his charms! *cackles* Thanks for the comment~**  
**

**DragonFire Princess-** Lol. I won't tell what'll happen when they find out Ryoma's a girl, but I'll tell you it'll... vary. kinda like what I did with Ryoma X Reina, only more... odd. haha. Thanks for the comment!**  
**

**EmeraldRain25-** Thanks for the review~ And I checked the exchange~ Thanks for the invite but I'd have to decline. Too many ongoing stories to update. Hehe.**  
**

**kikumarucat- **Gyahah. A supreme harem? We'll see! XD But... as a foreword, I like writing harems to show the loyalty of both parties, so she'll remain fixated to Yukimura. To some degree, anyway. LOL. Thx for the review!**  
**

**xxTenshichaN25xx- **lol me too! More on the Pillar pair tho, but they're so similar! XD Won't say when she'll reveal her gender~ *cackles* And thanks for the review!**  
**

**WhitewingsFlutter-**No problem~ I'll be looking at it again soon. XD Haha. I wonder how long Yuki'll be in denial. And love triangle? I think not! haha. Thanks for the comment!**  
**

**HiBirdSong-** Nyahah. I kinda updated pretty quick this time..! I was forced to put a chapter of my other story on hold, but meh. XD Ah, and thanks for the comment~**  
**

**Yuki Masaharu-** I'm happy you thought this chapter was good~! XD And I'm proud to announce I updated faster than I did chapter 17! haha. Thx for the review~**  
**

**Kei-chan- **I get that a lot. XD I wanted to try something else since I wrote for the Pillar Pair already. hehe. Hope I can salvage Yukimura somehow~ And thx for the comment!**  
**

**FranscoiseLaraLapis- **lol. I dunno what I drank when I was writing the baboon thing. lol. And haha- - poor Sanada, let him be ours! XD Hope this came quickly enough and thx for the review!**  
**

**TPOK- **"Go do your sparkly magic on her and realize she's a girl andandand fall in a ditch called love!" lol you sound like his fairy lovemother. hahaha. And I'll try to make Yuki more lovable (not now, but soon lol)~ And thank you for the review!**  
**

**BrokenBlackCat- **Everyone wants Ryoma to be with Sanada now! XD No can do, though~ Sanada's for the fans! XDD Other schools'll come soon, btw~ XD And finally, thanks for the review! ;)**  
**

**DigimonLoveForever- **I'm so glad you think it's a good story! T_T And yes, more of the other schools and Ryoga'll appear soon. Not in the next chaps but soon. XD Thanks for the review!**  
**

**deadlycute17- **thanks for the review~! Hehe. Hope this chappy was lovable as well~! XD

**Rosalia Tiri- **Thank you for the review~! And yes, do stay in this fandom! XD I'm sure it missed you. ;) Hehe. And I'm glady you think the elements (some of them I didn't even notice, thanks for pointing them out) that I used for the story works! Very relieved to hear that~ ^^ And once again, welcome back to PoT! Ahaha

* * *

**HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLT ! XD  
**

If it's not so much trouble, do leave so feedback~

Thanks for your time~**  
**


	9. Rankings

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the epic support minna-san! Special hugs to those who showed it! T_T I want to give all of you nice bear hugs~! 3**  
**

**OT: ***sigh* I realize I have to take **Ryoma X Reina **out of hiatus soon (told'ja it was short). I hope the slump would stop soon as well, especially for those few angels, some of you are here I know, who are waiting for the update! I love that story but it's in a slump when it's in a slump. T_T

Anyway, if there are readers of RxR here (including those nice people who will read despite all these problems) _please _tell me your thoughts on the chapters! I'm just guessing here of what might be causing its decline for the past few chapters... T_T

**HELP MEEEEE**! Please? Thank you. XD

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

* * *

…

* * *

**CHAPTER 9: Rankings**

'_Why would Echizen Ryoma wear a wig?'_

Sanada stared at that area at the temples. Something was not natural—in fact, with close inspection and good eyes, he could see the well-hidden pin. The hair inside and the wig was made of the same type of hair, so it was especially hard to tell. Maybe he had been lucky, in fact, if that was what one called it, that the wig had been displaced so much during the game and his sudden slumbering so he was able to see.

But when he realized where his hand was going, he froze. He found the wig because he was touching the boy's hair unnecessarily, and now he was planning on actually taking it off? Did he have no manners? _He_ of all people should know how important personal space was.

His eyes twitched as he forced the curiosity away (not easy) and cleared his throat to try to wake Echizen up (again). But he couldn't bring himself to shake the boy harder. He ignored the fact that he actually liked watching him sleep, and mused at how tired he probably was to let his guard down like this.

He just let out a deep breath, and Echizen shifted a few seconds later. By instinct he put his hand down...

.

.

But..., somehow his hand ended up somewhere… disconcerting.

His hand landed on his—her—his chest area.

It was very... small, and he had a feeling it was being covered, but a direct touch could reveal it all.

His face entered several shades of red and his hand flew to the opposite side. His brain malfunctioned, and continued that way for a very long number of minutes.

Frankly he wanted to step away to compose himself but at the state he was at that couldn't happen unless he wanted to drop her down the cold wood seating they called 'bench'.

So he stayed at the awkward position of having an unknowing girl resting on his shoulders. He was surprised she hadn't heard the beating of his heart.

_Wait a minute…_

What could a small girl be doing as a bodyguard? Didn't she say something about the tradition only for the boys of the family?

If so, then just what was going on?

His head reflexively turned to look at her, but was quick to look away composure he gathered immediately got sucked away every time he did so, anyway. And... he seemed to be doing that _a lot_ these past few days and now he could tell it would only happen more frequently.

And so once again, he let out an extremely deep breath, relaxed his back (which was, again, not easy) and tried to calm.

_Inhale_

_Exhale_

He would just have to wait for her to wake up.

* * *

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

Yukimura Seichi was sitting, crossed-legged, on the living room, and drinking tea. It was a little past 11 already. He coincidentally went down to get some water (which ended up to be tea), considering he was just lying down the bed for more than an hour.

His mind wandered to the events these past few days, with the new activities in the club helping in distracting him.

It didn't really help much, since every _single_ day he would catch Ryoma and Sanada talking somewhere inconspicuously. Couldn't that boy sense he was uncomfortable? Uncomfortable because he wasn't doing his job properly, of course, and Seichi knew he had not lacked in giving reminders.

Frankly, he thought Ryoma would be in his bed with Karupin sleeping soundly. He didn't realize being there after the door bell was rung would prove him wrong.

"I'll get it~" It was Rinko-san, followed by the maid. Rinko usually went home to her husband during Fridays, but it seemed she extended her stay a bit. Once again, he would find out precisely _why_ a little too quickly.

The door opened, and he could hear faint voices. It was low, and vaguely familiar. Rinko's voice sounded glad and embarrassed at the same time. Yukimura placed his tea down the coffee table and stood up.

It didn't even take him 5 steps and his eyes widened at what he was seeing.

He was seeing something _very_ disconcerting indeed.

**…**

_Pause_

Sanada... did not expect this at all. He knew if by some chance Yukimura would see them (especially with him carrying her bridal style), he would look surprised, but this was something mixed with the annoyance he probably felt when he found out what Echizen felt for her master.

Was the feeling mutual?

Not to mention _they were living together._

Maybe it was a bad idea to get her home, after all.

"Let me get him." Yukimura said with his usual calm façade, but it nevertheless made even him twitch a bit.

Did Yukimura _know_ of Echizen's secret, he wondered. Well, he should. But then again, he didn't know she could play tennis now did he? That mere fact made him feel elated, more so than proper. It was like in Echizen's list of people to trust, he was ranked higher than Yukimura, her own master—a man she had known for so long.

A man she cared for.

"Sanada." Yukimura called again, looking at him warily, and extended his hand further. Sanada of course was not insane enough not to give Echizen to him. When Yukimura was already carrying her, he looked at her for a moment with rather cold eyes. He turned around and started walking. But before Yukimura was a meter away, he halted his steps, and slightly titled his head towards his direction.

"Come in Sanada." He said. "We need to talk."

**…**

Sanada watched as a brunette woman around her 40s lead him to the living room. She asked the maid to provide him some drinks after thanking him, wherein he told her it wasn't a problem, and soon she followed Yukimura to wherever he went.

A few minutes later, Yukimura came down looking calm. And yet, to the observant Sanada it looked forced. And his senses were heightened, too, due to adrenaline. Why so much was enticed, he wasn't sure yet. Maybe he unconsciously thought Yukimura was holding a hammer behind his back?

"Thank you for bringing my bodyguard back. Wherever he went." He said, in his usual tone-of-voice and with no hammer at hand.

"The tennis courts."

Yukimura batted an eyelid before crossing his arms. "Pardon?" as if he didn't know what he meant. But Sanada decided to admit it, anyway.

"We were playing a match."

Yukimura stiffened further, and Sanada could almost see a hammer materializing in front of him- ready to strike.

"Why?"

But Sanada knew Echizen (nor Yukimura) would appreciate him telling this secret, so he rummaged for lies. "I slipped up on what you plan to do to determine the regular players." He said. Earlier that day, Yukimura said he wanted to have ranking tournaments for the latter part of next week instead of the old system of beating two regulars. "He… wanted to join. He's no longer a freshman, after all."

"Why hadn't he told me any of this?"

"He wanted to surprise you." Somehow that tasted rather bad in his mouth. He was not going to repeat that. "And he was unsure to try out in public when he wasn't sure of his skills yet."

"And he is, now?"

"Hai. Please give him a slot."

"..."

"..."

"I'll think about it."

It was then, after yet _another_ moment of silence, that Sanada stood up and took his leave. "Now, I have to go home. Thank you for having me." He uttered stoically as he extended his hand. Yukimura stared at it for a long second before doing the same. They shook hands as curtsy.

And it did not feel congenial at all.

**…**

Yukimura stood at the door's threshold and watched him go, and this uneasy feeling wasn't diminishing at all. He sighed and went back to Ryoma's room again. As expected, his mother was there and he was already dressed up in his sleeping attire. Karupin layed down by his head.

"He's sleeping soundly. He had been losing sleep these past few days."

His eyes twitched and he a frown quickly crept up his face. "You mean they've been meeting for _days_?"

"I…" Rinko paused.

"Probably." And sighed.

"...Yes."

Yukimura's eyes widened and tilted his head away. When he couldn't pull his mask back, he turned around and gestured to leave. But then Rinko called his name firmly to stop further thoughts.

"Seichi." She said, making him pause his steps. "Don't blame him."

Seichi didn't say anything.

"He wouldn't do anything to hurt you." He knew that all too well. _But still, why would she say that?_

"He _was _supposed to protect me, after all." He added, just to be sure. Frankly, he didn't know what he was expecting.

"You were his friend, Seichi. He still thinks like that. Even if you don't."

He stared at her for a while and smiled his angelic, and fake, smile which he fortunately managed to muster in the nick of time. "Of course I think of him as a friend, Rinko-san, what are you talking about?"

And he could tell the aura around the demure woman changed, quickly from perplexity to that of downright annoyance.

"You're lucky I can't blurt everything out right now, but even if my Ryoma would remain loyal to you for as long as he could, there's still a possibility he will be taken away."

"Like being pirated by some other rich kid?"

Rinko only sighed, and mentally he was doing so too.

"Suit yourself." Was all she said, before heading out the door. This time, Seichi fixed his eyes- not following Rinko at all, and looking as far away from Ryoma as possible.

He thought that this denial game could go on forever.

* * *

Yukimura sat down beside Ryoma's bed, opposite to the side his cat occupied. He absent-mindedly touched the boy's soft cheek, and then it proceeded to his forehead.

_Denial, eh?_ He knew he, through the years, had been denying a lot of things. Most of which were issues that never even reached his consciousness, as if it was a defense mechanism his brain initiated.

While some thoughts… he continued to entertain. Thoughts that he'd rather not pursue, and yet he let be for his own guilty pleasure. There was only one such thought he could name so easily though, as it attacked his well-trained little head everyday.

The thought of Ryoma having those kinds of feelings for him.

His hand caressed Ryoma's cheek gently, and he whispered "Why is it so hard?", but neither Ryoma nor Karupin flinched. As he watched the boy's slumbering state, feeling his breath, he leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

Why... was it so hard to just dismiss those feelings. He was not dense, he never was, he was just quick to consider thoughts as if they didn't exist—afraid of what they might do to him. 'Afraid' though was not the right term, at least not that he would admit it.

At the moment, he only considered Ryoma's feelings for him and not his feelings or even what they could mean. _He did not fancy Echizen Ryoma_ was a thought that never came to mind again, and yet never ceased to manifest itself.

This was all one sided, he said to himself, and it was one reason why he never 'dared' to fire him directly.

And once again, the thought of him denying that last thought never came to mind—dismissed by his over-protective brain like a fly.

And yet, his mouth continued to blabber things on its own.

"Why do you make it so hard, hm, Ryoma?" he said, not quite sure what it meant, himself.

And after separating a bit, he basically stayed there in that position not knowing what to do next—only his elbows supporting his weight. No, actually he knew, but that option (walking away) was not particularly appealing at the moment.

He wondered what part of his brain was working at the moment.

He felt Ryoma's breath again, and he continued to watch his expression that told him he was in peace. He did not want to disturb anyone, and further humiliate himself, but there was a part of him that wanted to join Ryoma wherever he was. And unconsciously he leaned down again to place another kiss on his other cheek—but this time with a little more pressure, and a little longer.

He did not notice the quick escalation of warmth that s_tarted _to envelop on the younger boy's soft skin.

And when he tilted his head back up and opened his eyes—his heart stopped.

Ryoma's eyes were wide open in shock and a beautiful shade of red covered his face. Frankly, Seichi almost leaned back down again.

But he wasn't a Yukimura for nothing.

Plus there was no way he would admit what he was doing, even when a large part of him just wanted to burst out. And what exactly would burst out was a thought he never tried to venture in. For he knew, consciously or not, that he might never come out.

He stared at Ryoma, whose expression hadn't changed. Yukimura was the opposite, and he was quick to compose himself.

He, Yukimura Seichi, had always been into being the best—never losing. One strategy was not venturing into anything you might never get to conquer at all. And at the moment, he didn't feel like a winner at all either. This side of him was a weakness.

So, Seichi sat back up and combed his long hair (nonchalantly) to his ear. "I was checking if you were really asleep when I slipped."

"Ah." Was all Ryoma said, and he didn't know what he could make of that. Seichi knew it was a stupid response coming from him, but he could make anything sound viable. But unfortunately, that time, he wasn't able to make it sound all that much believable. Ryoma's face was suddenly unfathomable.

"You must be tired to slip like that. I'm awake now?" The boy said and sat up straight. But as instantaneous as everything that day, Ryoma's eyes suddenly widened, letting Seichi see even closer his gracious golden orbs, at a recollection and he quickly looked around. He frowned at this, Ryoma was probably looking for Sanada.

"Sanada carried you home. He had already left."

"He _did_?!" His eyes widened at Ryoma's reaction. Seichi had never seen him looking this embarrassed before. It was... cute, and made his heart thump, but he quickly forgot about it as he was not its cause.

"Hai. That's all I have to say. Surely my knowing this now know the implication of your actions?"

"G-Gomen Nasai."

"Sanada told me everything."

Ryoma stared at him incredulously, and this only fuelled his anger more. What was with that shocked but sceptical expression? Did he trust Sanada more than him? Not that he should be surprised, considering how had been treating his guard, but that was _not_ an excuse.

Right…?

"But I want to hear it from you, in case you lie."

Ryoma looked at him warily, in case he was just trying to pull the truth out of him. His eyes twitched at this, but he recalled Rinko's statements, and decided against walking away. At the moment, he would probably look immature. Not to mention doing so would show he was bothered by Ryoma's actions, and that state of weakness could not be seen.

"I was practising tennis with him."

"I see." He nodded. "I presume you think of him as a better opponent than I am?" he asked as congenially as he could, just to show how 'unaffected' he was. Ryoma seemed to have bought it.

"I didn't want to bother you."

"I see. Well, in any case I decided to give you a slot."

The boy blinked. "Pardon?"

"A slot in the ranking tournaments." He said, and Ryoma stayed silent then, thinking he must have been surprised to be given a slot. He must be happy. Yes, Seichi knew that he was a nice boy, so naturally he'd be aiming to even make his body guard happy from time to time.

Surely, _this_ little inconsistency in attitudes wouldn't prove that much of a problem, yes? And hopefully the boy would forget all about his embarrassment earlier on, too. And embarrassment that _he_ was having a hard time forgetting.

He realized he needed to go to bed.

"Mah, I will announce it tomorrow on the team, rest so you will give us a good show." He paused and stood up, wearing that sophisticated aura that never failed him. "Oyasumi."

"...Oyasumi."

And with that, Yukimura Seichi closed the door for the sake of his sanity.

**_THUMP_  
**

.

Echizen Ryoma stared at the door with an initially unfathomable expression. When she was certain no one was magically going to enter the door, her wall fell down immediately—revealing the reddest face she might have ever worn.

"_Why do you make it so hard, hm, Ryoma?"_

It started there. It had been vague and she barely remembered the words, but her consciousness started to return then. And being the heavy sleeper that she was, she just concluded the abnormal weight on her cushion was just a heavier Karupin suddenly having a twin.

But then she felt something warm on her cheek. Her eyes widened, but did not have the reflexes to move any more- she was frozen completely. All she saw was shiny blue hair, but there was only one person who could own that.

She told her heart to calm, otherwise it would stop beating entirely. It didn't though, and when Seichi parted from her it certainly wasn't any easier on her heart.

He had his lids semi-closed for a moment, revealing a face as flushed as hers was. With eyes filled with care, longing, and… love?

'_There was no way that was an accident.'_ She mused, and once again her face got redder.

She covered herself with her thick blanket as if embarrassed that the heavens would see her face.

But then, she stiffened.

She knew she could have just imagined those things. Dreams were made to be vivid, after all. They had always been like that, making people experience things they might never experience in real life.

But something wouldn't change. And even if she forced all the hopeful feelings out of her system, there was something she would relish. At least for the moment. She wanted to indulge in it for now. She never knew when _it_ would come again, after all…

That feeling of inexplicable happiness.

.  
.

**END OF CHAPTER IX**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER X: Games**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS**

**BrokenBlackCat- **Belated Happy New Year~ And yes! Sanada is nearing the truth. XDD Thanks for the comment!**  
**

**WhitewingsFlutter- **Ahahaha. Thanks for the comment! Here's some aspirin if you're having a headache. XDDD And A yuki POV here~ hehe**  
**

**TunaForDesert- **Oh no problem, and this is definitely noted! lol. Let's just think he has a soft spot for them. lolol. And Yes, you should go back to our fandom soon! We go out too much. Oh yeah, we got a new admin! She moves out a lot, too. *cackles* Thanks for the review, btw~!**  
**

**DragonFire Princess- **Oh, here it is! And barely 2 weeks since the last update, too! Heheh. Hope you like what happened next~**  
**

**TPOK- **Right! lol. Sanada'll be the first to know in the team. Gehehe~ And I'll definitely Try and make him more lovable. Sanada of this story is for the fans after all. XD And thanks for the review~!

** Guest [12/28/12]- **Here! hehehe. I dare say it came out pretty quickly, no? *Cackles proudly* Thanks for the comment~!**  
**

**shanagi95-** She will, she will! Hard to imagine Ryoma not being awesome in the canonical way, after all. XD I think it'll be in the next or the chapter after. Thank you for the comment~ ;)**  
**

**Darkspider-** Thank you for the review! And really, the fact that you wanted to review every chapter was touching enough for me. T_T Thanks~ And I do love it when people review every chapter. lol. And my goodness, I hope you get through those trials in life soon! Hope we could, somehow, help you relieve the stress. I'm interested in your suggestion on Seigaku. So far I dunno how to put it in, but we'll see! XD**  
**

**deadlycute17-** Thank you for the review~! XD Glad you thought so and I swear to do my best in keeping it cute and lovable! Hehehehe**  
**

**FudoYuki-** Yep~ Hehehe. And who wouldn't want to make things complicated? Especially for Yukimura? loooool. Thanks for the comment~!**  
**

**ELIZABETH-of-darkness -** Yay! One of my wishes came true~ (for a silent reader to leave a feedback) hehe. And I'm so totally a big fem! Ryoma fan too (as you may have noticed *cackles*) and I was the same! I kept reading every fic in my time even if they weren't as good as the established ones lol. Thx for the review, btw~**  
**

**Yuki Masaharu- **Thank you for the review~! And I shall promise to the kami of all Otakus that I will try my best to keep the story as good as it is so far, or hopefully even better. XD**  
**

**MintLeafeon- **Tenenen - It'll be Sanada~! haha. Oh Sanada really does care for Ryoma. Actually, I see too much of my beloved Mitsu in him. Hahahahhaa. Ah, thank you for the comment~! XD**  
**

**Kupuruu-** Lol. Sorry!It's sensual, definitely. I just like Sanada/Tezuka types so much I had to put these scenes in! haha And thanks for the comment! XXD**  
**

**kikumarucat-** Gahehehe. He's an unfortunate guy, isn't he...? [Insert Evil laugh here] Let's laugh together! Lol. Thanks for the comment, btw. XD**  
**

**AnGell12- **Hai~ That's why this story'll probably be more than just 20 chapters. Not sure how to make them fit in well yet, but I hope the ideas'll come. And thanks for the review~!**  
**

**FranscoiseLaraLapis-** Hahah. I think they're already on their way to being BFFs. *cackles* Free cheers for the awesome friendzoned guys~! lololol. I love those guys. haha. And thanks for the review! XD**  
**

**Yuu- **Thank you for the review~! XD Glad you thought so! ;)**  
**

**Rosaliar Tiri- **I don't watch KHR (yet) but I totally get why you shift there a lot. hahah. But stay here! lol. Or you can have like 2 fandoms at once right? Hehe Anywho, I'm glad that you still saw the sensual pair here! Many of the readers (and partly including me lol) are bending towards the cap pair now. haha. And thanks for the review~**  
**

**DigimonLoveForever-** Yep! This'll be Sensual. haha. I just love cap/pillar pair type of moments I couldn't help thanks for the review, btw~

**Natasya Ivashkov- **Thank you for telling me! T_T I'm glad you'll stay tuned. I'm relieved. XD**  
**

* * *

**...**

* * *

Thank you so so so much for reading this far!

But if you're not in a rush, please pause for a moment before going anywhere...  
For I would love to read your thoughts! Whatever they are, they are important...! XD


	10. Games

**WARNING: **For now, I wouldn't be incorporating Yukimura's ESP or the 'Doors' in my games. I had a hard time composing tolerable games with them on. Gomen. If I don't find a solution, then those techniques will never show up in the story. I don't think it's a big deal, but I want to hear your thoughts on this, too. ;)

**THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT! If I had the time to make fanarts this month I would have made a new coverimage for this story. XD But for now, I can only send hugs and update a little quicker than I am used to. lol**

**Enjoy this chapter, and please don't hesitate to review! :)**

AD: 1.)I made PoT forum that could use some more people Gehe. It's called** 'When Fans Meet'** Forum. ;) Link's on my profile and do stop by when you find the time~**  
**2.) Is my other fem!Ryoma fics. XD They're really sue-ish, but I love those stories anyway. Hehe. It would be awesome for me and my PoT muse if none of them were in a slump... XD**  
**

**Standard disclaimer apply.**

* * *

**…**

* * *

**CHAPTER 10: Games**

RIKKAI HIGH

Ryoma and Seichi were walking on the school grounds, straight to the tennis courts. Ryoma's brain was still, as it was doing the whole morning, thinking of ways on how to tell Seichi one of her secrets. When she woke up earlier, she finally had enough working brain cells to realize that if she was going to play, Seichi would come to realize she'd been lying to him this whole time.

Plus her bocchama acted like nothing happened the previous night, which made everything worse. If that sudden return of genuine niceness was just during that fleeting moment, then the chances of him getting annoyed with her for lying would be that much larger.

Then again, she recalled what Sanada said just before she fell asleep…

But how could she know which one his getting mad at really meant?

What was she really afraid of? That he would get mad because she, a lowly body guard, would lie about something like that for so long, or afraid (as Sanada pointed out) that he_ wouldn't_ get mad since him feeling offended would mean that he… cared?

_This was all too confusing. _

But then after a few steps, another thought came to mind. What if he did get mad, but not because she was pertinent? But simply because he'd think she was putting his safety at risk by lying so much?

It was unlikely for tennis skills to put him to danger, but this was _Seichi_. The man who had been confusing her being for years without even batting an eyelid. Immediately, she shook her head. She just _knew_ she was over-thinking things. Whether or not he got mad, she would be in a dilemma.

"Is there anything wrong Ryoma? You look pale." He said, more like a statement than a question.

"Ah. Well, I…" She coughed, making one of his eyebrow to rise. "I have something to tell you." In any case, he better hear it directly from her than find it out for himself. But as Seichi waited for her to speak, a certain seaweed brain entered the school grounds.

"Buchou." He said semi-politely and then proceeded to looking at her and greeted her, too. "Brat."

"Baka."

Seichi quickly intervened their insulting exchange. "Ryoma?"

"Ah. We're going to be late." She said, walking slightly ahead. No way she'd show something embarrassing in front of seaweed.

**…**

Within the bustling school grounds of the city's most prestigious High School, excited buzzing was heard. Less than half the student body was in school at that time, most of whom were there due to club activities, but they all nevertheless heard the exciting news.

The famous tennis club's going to have a tournament.

Most clubs allowed their members to watch during specific periods, making the tennis courts bustle with liveliness than ever. And not only were the visitors were hyper, the members were, too. Everyone was warming up in their own way, with the freshmen assisting upperclassmen by giving out towels, water bottles (with water inside, duh), and moral support.

The crowd watched as the players congregated at the center court, facing a still empty area of courts. The heroine was one of those people, and soon Yukimura and two others roused from the club room and headed to where the meeting was being held.

Ryoma absent-mindedly watched Seichi announce the ranking tournaments that would be held within in an hour or so. Since it was Sunday, he said that they would try and finish the first round before lunch so everyone could go home and take their rests.

She couldn't help but get nervous. She better tell him about her tennis history soon. But what about her other secret? A part of her still wanted—badly—to tell him her real gender. She didn't know what to hope for, but… but…

His expression the previous night popped out of her head.

And once again, she shook the hopeful feelings off and tried to remember what her mother asked her when she asked for advice regarding the issue. Unconsciously, she looked down on the ground.

It occurred earlier that day, too, the memory was annoyingly fresh.

"_Kaa-san." She said, as Seichi was upstairs taking his bath. "If I were to tell Seichi I was a girl, what would happen?"_

"_Well, he might feel offended by being guarded by a female and he might fire you."_

"…"

"_It's a small chance. I don't think he'd do that."_

"_So…"_

"_But if you tell him, which I'm alright with," Actually, Rinko looked absolutely ecstatic. "You would inevitably have to tell him _why_ you became his guard in the first place. Are you ready to tell that story?"_

No.

That her answer. And she sighed at her weaknesses and cowardice. It was unlike her. But she had always been cowardly when it came to Seichi, always.

Her daze was cut off, though, by the sound of rolling. Yanagi and Yagyuu came out with a rolling white board with tournament tables.

"Blocks will be divided into three." Yanagi initiated. "Each block would have simultaneous games of two, and the top three from each block would play for this year's District tournaments."

"Wait, but that would make…ano…" kirihara stared at the sky and did his mental math. And once again, NO… he was not good at math.

"Nine." Niou continued. "Why would we need nine regulars though?"

"One substitute, and one ought to be a bench coach. That would most probably be me until the prefectural tournaments." Yukimura answered and continued to survey the team crowd to see if there were any more questions. Jackal soon raised his hand.

"The number of chosen ones are odd per block, so how do you determine who're the top?"

"The semi-finalist will battle it out, so to speak."

"I see." And that was that.

Ryoma, on the other hand, was staring intently at the board. She looked at the names from her block, basically all of which she didn't recognize. So when she did find _two_ that she did—she paled considerably.

Well... just her luck.

Marui Bunta was one thing… but _Seichi_?

"Are there any more questions?" Yukimura asked, as if on cue, and no one said anything. "I take it that there are none." He clapped his hand. "You will be given half-an-hour to warm up. Make full use of it.

"Dismissed."

The crowd of players dispersed, leaving those from the back lee-ways to see what was in the board as well. Almost all of them freshmen, and soon enough she was receiving their weird stares. She frowned.

"Y-You got into the tournament?" A random never-to-be-named freshman said, Icecream-kid nodded.

"Sugoi, Etsuzen-san!"

"Well, he _is_ a senior."

"…yeah."

"Still. Sugoi, sugoi!"

Ryoma could only sweat-drop. But as she thought of a way to excuse herself, and proceed to Seichi, the freshmen paled in front of her. She batted an eyelid before they gave a sudden, enthusiastic, greeting.

"Buchou!"

She automatically turned around. "Seichi-sama." She whispered, and he smiled- albeit not to her directly, but to the freshmen.

"May I borrow my body guard for a bit? We have something to discuss."

"O-OF COURSE!"

And the pair inconspicuously escaped from the eye of the public.

* * *

_/Several Minutes Later/_

"What did you just say?"

_Whooooosshhh~_

A certain bluenette did not even wince at the sudden gust of spring wind that hit his face—making his long hair flow sidewards. To Ryoma, it felt like it was going to elongate and slap her face. She was a brave girl though, so she really did repeat what she just said.

"I had been playing tennis since I can hold a racket."

"I see." He said, closing his eyes and crossing his arms (tightly) afterwards. "Was it that entertaining to hide it from me?

"Were you playing a game with your father?"

"No." She said immediately. "I was forbidden to until you were good enough. And you had been, for a long time."

"And why hadn't you challenged me?"

"..."

"..._well_?"

And she sighed, looking quite calm, despite feeling the total opposite. "In case you hadn't realized..., you were distancing yourself from me." She said, suddenly recalling her feelings when it started years ago. The bitterness in her voice showed.

"We know you love tennis. I thought maybe you'd hate me even more if I went into that part of your life as well."

He was silent for a while, before huffing something like 'I see'.

Ryoma's eye twitched at the sentence that came after that hopeful silence. _Hopeful?_ She was hoping he say something like 'I don't hate you.' But in the end he didn't say anything near those words. Nothing to deny her claim. _Maybe she did imagine the events last night, after all…_

"Why… are you telling me this now?"

"I wanted you to hear it from me, not see it with your own eyes."

"So I had to wait after Sanada knows." He said, lifting his shoulders to form an ironic shrug."Don't you think I, your master, will find it offending he found out about this first?"

"Well, he wasn't being particularly hostile."

"_I'm_ hostile?" Hostile and Yukimura Seichi should not be placed in one sentence, Ryoma knew, as conventions went.

"Not in the conventional sense of the word." She added. She knew he found her waves of returning to her real, confident, self from time-to-time widely dizzying. She mused that he probably liked it better when she just took everything he did. That even when he hurt her, she wouldn't show any hint of it, afraid of troubling him and forcing her away.

At first, she thought it was because of her job. She could not fail at this, she knew, it was beyond important to her and her sanity. But soon she knew, after that annoying conversation with Sanada, that her reasons had slight shifts. She genuinely cared for this person, whether he was being like the Seichi that was her friend, or the Seichi that was her cool cold master doing everything to push her away.

And if caring for a person for him meant to be brutally honest about how he had been acting, then so be it. He knew one of her secrets anyway, and now that she had already felt guilty about it, Kami knew it wasn't entirely her fault. And she didn't get why she had to have that disturbing tennis match with Sanada first before doing anything about it.

A lot of thoughts passed by her head during that moment of silence, and it was Seichi who broke it. "I don't recall attacking you."

"You haven't." She said immediately. _Not physically, anyway,_ but she kept that thought to herself. "But I don't recall doing anything to offend you, either."

She found a thump in her chest when she saw a flash of something in his eyes before he hid it behind his impenetrable mask again.

"Other than being incompetent in your job lately?"

"You've been 'hostile' for _years_, I wouldn't count that as 'lately'."

"Well, conventionally speaking, a master-servant pair aren't supposed to be friendly. That's all there is, and there's no need to extend that issue." He uttered dismissively and her eyes twitched.

_That was it?_ No matter how she looked at this, even if she was a little rebel, this didn't make any sense! Was he telling the truth, or was her feelings mere chess pieces in his game of following everything conventional?

Honestly? She never would have thought that having this 'talk' with him would be so _disappointing_. What was she hoping for? That they would be all friendly again? The feeling's one-sided, obviously, and of course something like this wouldn't make her quit. But still- this would make _anyone_ snap.

"I see." She said coolly, as opposed to what she truly felt. But when he's being unreadable, how could she be otherwise?

She could only look at him straight in the eye, and hoping like hell nothing else would show. "Then there shouldn't be any issue in me hiding so much from you is there? I assure you none of them would not endanger your safety."

"…Oh? So you are hiding more things from me? What if I order you to tell me?"

"We have our own rights, and even when I have been blindly following your around, I definitely know mine."

His mouth only moved, but nothing came out. So she sighed, and turned away.

"Now, we have to go. We have our games to attend to, Seichi-_sama_."

And she walked away, closing the door of the rooftop, instinctively knowing Seichi would stay there for a while anyway.

_Thump_

The sound of her head hitting the rooftop door. Her fist clenched and she gritted her teeth.

That was just like him, Yukimura Seichi.

Just when she though they were getting closer again..., he'd do something and make her understand he was stepping back.

* * *

Stomp

Stomp

**Stomp**

Ryoma stomped her way to the courts. She was going to have a match with a non regular named Arui something. But on her way there, she caught a glimpse of a very familiar yellow cap. Her mood slightly got better and she immediately turned to him.

She forgot how many times she should be thanking him. He was probably late due to council duties again. She needed to tell him what happened with Seichi on the roof top, too. Well not really, but she wanted to.

"Sanada." She called softly, and she could swear she saw his ears perk. But he just kept on walking, as if he didn't hear her at all. She frowned. Did he truly not hear her?

It felt more like he ignored her on purpose.

But before she could do anything Sanada-related, Yanagi popped up from nowhere and told her her game was starting soon. So she shrugged and put this new issue on the back of her mind and went to the courts.

Ryoma stood coolly in her spot inside the courts and heard a few murmurs. Something about wasn't she a freshman, and then someone else negating that fact by saying she technically was a senior too. Others were muttering about never seeing her play before, etc etc. _Etcetera_

But then someone shouted that made her eye twitched. "Ganbatte, Etsuzen-san!"

_So Noisy… _She mused again, but all the same felt a little touched. This kid was just genuine nice. Besides, in a tennis match, only Nanako and her mother technically ever cheered her on. Her father and Ryoga were only there to provoke her.

Stood on the opposite side of the court was an unfamiliar (as most of them was and would remain so) sophomore student. He had a wavy brown hair, sharp eyes, and a very haughty grin.

"Give it your best shot, kiddo!"

And Ryoma only sighed.

**…**

_PAK!_

Sanada watched the game, which was going on for about a minute with multitude of this and that inside his gut. His game was during the next batch, and all of the regulars were already playing, and he found himself ending in this particular court during his free time.

And to think he had been avoiding her a moment ago?

In any case, amidst his confusing line of thought, he could hear the cheers for her in the background.

"S-SUGOI!" A freshman yelled in awe as Ryoma hit yet another return ace, with her service game having a similarly perfect score. With her _right_ hand.

"I didn't know he could play tennis?" Another one, an older one, gaped. His companion, a guy Sanada vaguely recognized as a regular in the basketball team, nodded vehemently. The guy's a fan of theirs.

"Yeah, why was he only swinging rackets before? To think-"

He was cut off by screams from the rabid feminine species.

"Kyaaaaa! I'm in love~"

"Me too!"

"_KYAAA!_"

"A-Amazing Etsuzen-san! This does not even count as a one-sided game de yansu!" The icecream-headed boy paused. "And not to mention he already has so many fangirls! I would whistle if I can de yansu!"

Sanada wanted to smirk at the reactions. They hadn't seen any of her skills _he_ already did.

And with that thought, recollection of the previous night flooded (again) his mind. He looked away.

He pulled down his cap to psychologically protect himself. He had been thinking a lot since he found out of her true gender. It was like there had been a wall forcing his emotions back all this time- that that wall was what kept him in that 'borderline'. That wall being Echizen being male.

But then when he realized otherwise, it was like this force just disappeared and everything that was held back just burst out. Now… his composure was all but gone every time she neared the vicinity-

_PAK!_

And then a wave of awed 'Ohs' was heard effectively pulling him out of his daze.

The opponent was now sweating buckets. "Game. Echizen 6 games to love!" The umpire announced, and many of the people clapped for her success.

"Mada Mada Dane." She said to her opponent and headed for the bench for water. Not that she needed it, though. It was then that, after a gulp of bottled water- which looked uncomfortably enticing to look at- their eyes met. Sanada's eyes _almost_ widened but he quickly went for a polite nod and walked away.

Most people would just assume he suddenly have somewhere to be, in his case it would be his game.

Surely, Echizen would not find that odd?

**…**

Sanada ended up on Yukimura and Marui's match several meters away. They were having a heated game, but expectedly Yukimura wasn't being pushed at all. Marui was giving it his all though, it was something to be proud of, even when he partly wanted to impress his crush.

"Witness my genius! Tight-Rope walking!"

A wave of amazed murmurs was heard. Even when most of them saw it several times already, it was such an intricate technique that even they, his own teammates, couldn't help but be impressed. Sanada heard a few more footsteps and he looked around. It seemed the regulars were slowly congregating at that court. Only Marui and Yukimura were regulars playing against each other on the first round so everyone else's games were easy. It didn't take long for Echizen to arrive as well, and he instinctively pretended not to see her until she greeted him herself.

Which meant a part of him (a rather huge one) was hoping that some other people would distract her until he could slither out to safety.

Okay, who was to say she would approach him? Even if it might sound presumptuous, given the events the previous night, she was _bound _to approach him. _Right...?_

"Yow."

"…good game." He said without looking, keeping his eyes pasted on the ongoing game.

"Ah."

"Sanada." She called firmly, and of course he'd have no choice but to look. Sanada blinked at her current appearance, she looked quite haggard. "About last ni—"

"What happened to you? Was that match so tiring?" She shook her head, and her brows knitted slightly at his comment.

"Of course not. You were there. Fans are just troublesome at times." She said and then held out her water bottle. It was apparently given to her by Shiita, so she added, "At times."

He made a slight nod, and she nonchalantly started drinking it. He realized the way she gulped _still_ looked somewhat enticing. The slight drop of water, the small movements of her lips..., her gulps—things his brain _refused_ to acknowledge before. And now that it did..., he couldn't help but feel disturbed.

Sanada needed to escape. _Now._

"Where are you going?"

He cringed and slightly turned to her, as he was already a few meters away. "Warm up. My game's going to start in 15 minutes or so." And he went just like that, without waiting for a reply.

Sanada did not expect for her to follow him.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" He asked, putting extra effort not to sound strained.

"Of course I do. I was in a tennis courts one time and on my bed the next."

"Yukimura was the one who carried you to your room."

"I know that." She said in a way that made him frown. "I know you carried me home though. I apologize for the inconvenience, I know you were more tired than I was."

"It wasn't a problem." He said, and kept jogging. He did not stop, and she just kept following him. Suffocating silence between them was heard all them. Who would have thought silence would feel so uncomfortable to him?

They remained that way until they neared the courts once again, after one long lap around the school. They could hear the people's chatters, gossips, and cheers again. But Sanada still felt her stare behind him the whole time.

"Sanada?" she finally called, he ignored the slight change of tone and concluded it was just his imagination. He just silently asked her what was the matter without looking, hoping their time alone would end soon.

_Only a few more minutes until we're in public eyes…_

But at that moment, his steps were suddenly the only taps that he heard. Echizen already stopped hers. He remained going, but unconsciously slowed down in wonder of what to do. Should he turn around and see where she went? Or should he keep going and pretend he didn't realize she had already stopped...?

"Sanada?"

_Doki_

"Please don't push me away as well."

.

.

Not only did Sanada's steps halt, he was pretty sure his heart beat did to.

After being run over by a wave of reason, Sanada immediately mentally berated himself for acting like such an idiot. Him never feeling this way before was _not_ an excuse to act like such a coward, so he turned back, mustering all composure that he could, and apologized.

"I'm sorry." He said, making a slight bow—both for courtesy _and_ to hide his face. "I was not feeling well and was afraid you'd catch it."

"But your team's immune system is stronger than mine…?"

"Gomen. I have this bias towards the health of females."

"…"

It was then that he finally lifted his head to stare at her. She looked shocked, of course, and scared. He hated himself immediately. But there was no way he was going to back down, now, was there?

"That's right." He paused, looking at her intently. "I know."

"I… don't know what you're talking about."

"Your wig. It got loose during our game and your sudden fainting."

"I do _not_ faint." She spat, offended. "And so what if I'm wearing a wig? Seichi has long hair, too."

"There's no use denying it."

"Where's your proof then? How can you be so sure?" She said, almost with confidence, but she could probably tell he was not bluffing. Sanada expected her to be stubborn. But then at the millisecond he tried to come up with proof... his eyes involuntarily ended up on her well hidden chest area. He blushed, deeply, and it was thoroughly humiliating.

But when he caught himself, it was too late. Echizen had already let out a gasp.

Honestly? If he wasn't so embarrassed he would have thought those rare blushes on her face to be extremely dazzling.

But, of course, he'd have to minimize the humiliation (if there was still the possibility of it increasing). He was Sanada Genichirou. He was never supposed to be stupid enough to put himself in such situations.

"I-It was an accident. I assure you." he said, almost coughing, and she gagged up air as well. She was utterly shocked.

"B-B- It's flat! You must be imagining things."

"The bandage must have loosened up, too."

Echizen gasped (again). And his eyes widened. He didn't even have the strength to punch himself with his mind.

"What I meant was—"

Echizen stared at him incredulously. "I can't believe Sanada Genichirou's a pervert."

"I-I'm not! It was an _accident_!"

"..."

"..."

And as expected, Echizen composed herself quickly, and in consequence it gave him time to get _his_. They stared at each other and finally were calm enough to at least _try_ and say intelligible things.

"Seichi doesn't know." She huffed, and allowed her head to slowly tilt down. "I appreciate you keeping this from everyone. Please."

He gulped.

Not only was it rare for her to say 'please', what made him utterly surprised what Yukimura had no idea of this secret. It made him feel… relieved. And he knew that even if she didn't ask him, he might not have told the captain willingly either.

He was not going to let her trust in him go to waste. Ever. It was a something he would keep. "I will. I won't tell before you do. I promise." He said immediately, and she looked at him with wide eyes, obviously not expecting such ready answer from him.

There was a pause, before she finally spoke. "Are you not going to ask me why I am cross-dressing?"

"Will you tell me why you do?" He smiled reassuredly, and he saw her gulp. An anticipating gulp. They sure were gulping a lot.

"…No."

"Then I will not ask."

She blinked at him, and Sanada hoped she would not try and ask him what he would want as exchange. He did not want one. He just wanted her to trust him completely—something Yukimura didn't have. That was already enough.

And what was more? He received the most beautiful smile he would ever see.

.

The two of them, then, were in a condition wherein they wouldn't even notice that one amused smirk hiding behind the bush.

.  
.

**END OF CHAPTER x**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER XI: Trickster**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS  
**

**ChocoMickey **Yeah~ Hehe. XD I hope I directed tolerable games! You can make so critiques of course. ;) Hahaha. And thank you for the comment~!

** DragonFire Princess- **Yukimura always paid attention to Ryoma, I guess, otherwise he wouldn't be so cold. I'll show why he's so stubborn in a few chapters. ;) Thx for the review!**  
**

**BrokenBlackCat- **Yes...! Yuki must be jealous! Hahaha. And about Niou..., his senses were tingling mostly due to the gender thing. Like how many people could tell a guy is gay or something. ;D Thanks for the review~**  
**

**shanagi95-**She will play soon! Just hope I composed the games well enough. XD And it happened in the flashback chapter, that she did cut her hair. Her parents 'for some reason' threw tantrums tho. Thx for the comment, btw~!**  
**

**AnGell12- **Yay! Glad you're excited. Hope this made it to the standards~ lol. Of course, you can be honest. Heheh. And finally, thank you for the comment~! XD**  
**

**FrancoiseLaraLapis- **Friendzoned guys are for us fan girls. *cackles* And no, you are not being insensitive at all! Your, along with a few others left who sends me reviews in RyomaXReina, are the ones who motivate me to update! Same with this one, but a lot of awesome people are _here._ XD I will never quit that story, I just hope there are more people like you guys. lol. Thx for the review~**  
**

**o0violetphoenix0o- **Yay for RyoxYuki fans~! *cheers* And it was my honor, to add this story to the pile. ;) And yes, Sanada'll help their relationship move. Yuki's kinda stubborn though. Gehehehe. Thank you for the review! XD**  
**

**Yuki Masaharu- **Hehe. Thank you for the review~! XD And I will reveal (to Yuki) Ryoma's real gender er... one of these days?XD**  
**

**MintLeafeon-** Lol. Yay for Sanada! He totally took most of the love enticed from the previous chapter. lololol. And in this chapter, your questions shall be answered, too! *Cackles* Thank you for the review~! ;)**  
**

**Guest [1/8/12]- (ch7)** Ah~ As a spoiler lemme say he always had feelings for her. A lot of things are just holding him back, including me of course. loool. And don't we all love to see Yuki jelly? We do~! XDDD Thanks for the review, btw~** (ch8)**No, no. You're not a mean person. You're normal. We all would love to see him seethe with jealously! [insert evil laugh here].**  
**

**Mutsumi Ayano- **lol. Leave it up to Yukimura to get away with something he was already caught doing. Gahahaha. And yes! I shall make it more complicated for Sanada as well. Hehehe. Thanks for the review~!**  
**

**TunaForDesert- **Tell me you're still alive! XD Live for the sake of your faaanssss, including me of course. XD Thanks for the comment~! lololol**  
**

**WhitewingsFlutter-** Isn't it because we love yuki so much?! XD And yay! Fanarts! If you do it, please share it with us! XDD Don't ignore your homework but we'd seriously love to see your works. haha. Thx for the review~**  
**

**deadlycute17- **Thank you for the review~! XD Glad that you though tthe chapter was cute! I'll try to keep it up~ Geheheh**  
**

**Bluemoon. Shadow- **Glad to hear that, then! XD I wish I felt your presence there earlier haha. And I won't say anything abt Atobe. *cackles* He had a part from the start and I don't wanna spoil. lololol. Thank you for the review~**  
**

**ELIZABETH-of-Darkness -** Hahaha. Hope this chap answered your questions~ XD And about Yuki admitting it... hehe. Won't say~! I'm kinda fond making him suffer. lol. Gomen, gomen. And thank you for the review~! ;D**  
**

**Darkspider- **That's good! And admirable optimism, my friend. XD And hahaha- Sanada-Hentai-sama. *cackles* And yeah, Yuki did come up with a stupid excuse! Even _he_ wouldn't be able to pull _that_ off. Haha. And the bad feeling was well-placed, Yuki's gonna be a douche for a while. Ah! I just thought of how to input Seigaku in. XD Thanks for the review~**  
**

**Guest[1/10/13]- **Hehehe. Glad you thought so! But for now, limeligh's on Sanada tho. Yuki's gonna back out for a while, I guess. XD Gomenasaiii! And ah, thank you for the review~! :D**  
**

**DigimonLoveForever-** Thank you for the review~! XDD And here it is! Barely a week after the previous one, too! \o/**  
**

**FudoYuki- **Hai~ He'll do something in due time, but for now I shall make him reluctant for a little while longer. lololol. Something'll happen though. Actually a lot. lol. Thanks for the comment! XD**  
**

**Natasya Ivashkov-** D'aww. You're so sweet! T_T Glad you let me know you're there by reviewing. XD Around 95% of the readers (in my other stories 98% *cackles*) don't bother doing the same. lol. Thanks for the comment, and Seichi'll find out... soon? lol

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...

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Thanks for reading minna-sann~!**  
**

And do let me know your reactions/comments/critiques/all sorts of feedback! They are what motivates me to write. ;D


	11. Trickster

**WARNING: **Overtly brooding Yukimura. Haha. At this point I'm wondering how I'd fully salvage his character. XD No scratch that, I WILL! Somehow...xD

**Anyway, thank you so much for the awesomely awesome support everyone~! xD HUUUUUGGGGSSSS! And imaginary but altogether scrumptous cakes to those who reviewed, fav'ed, subscribed, and C2d the story ;)  
**

**Enjoy~ And please let me know your thoughts. ;)  
**

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

* * *

…

* * *

**CHAPTER XI: Trickster**

RIKKAI DAI

_Pak_

_Pak_

_**Clank**_

"Behold! My genius." Marui grinned, pointing his racket arrogantly towards Ryoma. Her eyes twitched, she ignored the claps and cheers around the court.

"Mada Mada Dane."

"Eh?"

Marui pouted and Ryoma shrugged. She heard Marui lost to Seichi big time, so she was warned he might go all out on her—which he was. As proof, he already let out one of his trademark techniques the Iron Pole Strike, which Seichi defeated during their last game.

Marui Bunta was definitely a great player, and albeit self-proclaimed she had to admit he had hints of genius inside of him. Like the other regulars, he had monstrous reflexes and instincts. Of course, she was not going to lose.

_Pak_

She hit his second serve effortlessly (since Marui was still looking down on her) and hit it on a corner which he too, effortlessly got to. She sighed, it was time to up this game. Seichi already knew of her abilities, and she was in an especially good mood.

She smirked as Marui purposely made a lob. She jogged to it, jumped at an impressive height and— _**BAM! **_Placed the ball forcefully on the ground before the red-head knew she already hit the ball.

Marui's bubblegum bubble popped and if he did not have decent eye sockets, so would his eyes. Along with everyone else's except Sanada's.

"Oi, Oi." The red-head chuckled in awkwardness. "I heard you never played tennis before."

"You heard wrong." She shrugged and went back to the baseline. She stared at him haughtily and pointed _her _racket at him. "Are you going to serve or not?"

And as if just absorbing things, Marui opened his mouth for an indignant yell. "Mou. I got tricked! Mouuuuuuuuuuuu-" he said and stomped to the baseline as well. "I'm going to get serious now!"

"Good for you then." She smirked, and Marui this time, put in more power in his serve by jumping. It was good, Ryoma noted, but next to Sanada's…? It was nothing extraordinary.

_PAK!_

"Whoa! He returned it effortlessly!"

"Sugoi, Etsuzen-san! He's playing so well against a regular!"

"Ii. Data." Yanagi muttered and started writing in his yellow notebook.

But little did they know… that the show was just starting.

**…**

Niou Masaharu, after finishing his unbelievably easy game with a non-regular, watched the ongoing game with a mixture of entertainment, amusement, and utter ecstasy. Looking at the scoreboard, they were not even finished with their first game. He was surprised Echizen was winning 40-15.

After a long rally where both parties showed their reflexes off, the ball landed on Marui's court, giving Echizen the lead of 1 game to Love.

"Puri!" was all he said, at the same time as he saw Sanada walk and stay a few meters to his right. He probably had an easy game, too, but he obviously did not rush like he did. Sanada seemed confident of the girl's abilities.

He mentally smirked and replayed (again) a number of very entertaining and vivid memories inside his ingenious little head.

Puri

_It all started after he went to the new captain's large house. He always thought something was different with Echizen, but it was odd that he found it so hard to point out exactly what it was. After the visit, he went to bed and pondered a bit, and eventually lead to the conclusion that Echizen might be 'gay'._

_But he could easily tell who was gay or not, from the miniscule muscle movements and behaviour patterns. Echizen's resembled theirs, but it was kind of different- like he was a different _type_ of gay._

_So, he watched carefully his movements and the interactions. It was then that he realized Sanada never said 'Tarundoru 'once since the bocchama and his guard came in. It wasn't because he lost the captainship, Sanada would never lose power over them, after all. Until he noticed that he acted differently when he was with the small bodyguard. _

_Niou mentally squealed in excitement. _

_Their stoic Fukubuchou was going soft. _

He recalled he hypothesized Sanada was bisexual and Echizen was gay, and frankly for a few days it stayed that way. Until he saw Sanada burst out red when Echizen came close by- he laughed again (as he did so every time he remembered). So when he so _obviously_ went out of his way to avoid the 'boy', Niou could not stop himself from following them.

His impeccable stalking skills proved to be extremely useful, and he found out a rather largely amusing secret. _But then again…_, he mused.

_It would have been interesting if Ryoma really was a guy. _Then, Sanada would be gay- making it all the more entertaining to watch him succumb to the cross-dresser's charms._  
_

Either way, he was seeing what he never thought he would see. He would _so_ make the most out of this!

**…**

"I won't lose to the smallest member of this club!" Marui shouted as he watched her nonchalantly dribble the ball. "And serve already, damnit!"

"Why? Cuz' you're the tiniest regular?" She smirked, recalling one of Sanada's slip-ups about Marui complaining about his height all the time. "It's not like you'll get taller if I serve quickly."

_Silence_

It was Kirihara's boisterous laughter that broke it. "NYAHAHHAHAHAH!"

Followed bu Niou's. "WAHAHAHAHA!-_hic-_ NYAHAHAHAH!"

While a few others (who had more manners) stifled their laughter, only to fail miserably. But they shut up as soon as they saw Ryoma jump to make her serve.

_PAK!_

They watched the ball go to Marui's court and gulped as he took a stance, but-

"GYA!" The red-head yelled, touching his cheek that was slightly hit by the serve that magically targeted his genius face. "That ghurt!"

She shrugged, "Maybe if you were taller it wouldn't have it you."

"That doesn't even make any sense!" The self-proclaimed tensai yelled indignantly, again watching her dribble albeit more guardedly. "And what was that a twist serve? It really does look like the knuckle serve."

"But better." She said and at the time, Kirihara who was patting his stomach from laughing so much, immediately glared at her.

"Gakkiiii!"

"It's true, though." Sanada intervened making everyone near gape at him. Kirihara, who was more offended than surprised, cried.

"Sanada-fukubuchooouu!" the stoic vice-captain only sighed, massaged his head, and continued watching the game.

"Concentrate Kirihara. Watch." And after pouting, Kirihara and the others did just that.

The game went on. She never got an ace again, but she still maintained her service game. Since then, Marui got much, much, more serious and showing all of his impressive shots and skills as a volley-specialist. Of course, as her hearing was at its extreme, not to mention playing everyday with Sanada's invisible serve, it wasn't hard to overcome his tricks.

Soon enough, the crowds were full of surprised murmurs, claps, and plain incredulous expressions.

**_BAM!_**

"G-Game and Match! E-E-Echizen Six games to Three!"

And the noise a few seconds earlier and intensified. It was now predominantly yells and cheers that it had been a great game. Some even yelled encouragement to Marui that it wasn't like he would lose his spot as a regular. He's the last in the block, but a regular next to Seichi and her nevertheless.

As she mused these things, she and Marui walked to the center court and shook hands.

_Seichi, eh?_…. Her next game was with him.

"Congrats. I still can't believe we thought you never played."

"Hmn." She shrugged, and soon letting his hand go. "Good game." Was all she said, before proceeding outside of the courts.

She looked around for him. Her next game, eh? She knew they'd have several minute break after the matches now…, but would he play with her?

She paused.

All this time..., he had been showing her what he was showing to others _only_ when he was on the courts. She wondered if _she_ was on the court, how would it be different?

She looked around again, but still no sign.

"He left a few minutes ago. He has a game himself." He said and walked somewhere, she followed him unquestioningly.

"I see." She muttered and soon they ended up on the fountain near the small forest within school grounds. He allowed her to go first.

"He watched the whole thing." Sanada added, barely looking at her direction. "He would have been impressed."

'_I wish' _she mumbled to herself as she swallowed the water. Refreshing, it was, and for a moment she felt herself relax. But Sanada sighed, as if hearing her thoughts. "You better get ready for your game. This will be big, for the two of you."

"He'll be especially sadistic with me, I know it."

"It wasn't like anyone he played with got seriously injured."

"Oh, sure. Even the famed regular Marui Bunta got a few scratches. And _he_ had inhumane reflexes."

"So do you."

"But he hates me."

He stared at her. "How can you be so sure?"

"He treats me differently."

"But he hates me, too, remember?" He said turning to her. "But he doesn't go out of his way to make me feel hated."

Ryoma could only stare. _What was that supposed to mean?_ She mused, making him shake his head as if she was the biggest idiot he ever met. Her eyes twitched at this. But he ignored her and went in for a drink, himself.

Ryoma could not handle the anxiety, so she unconsciously leaned down to ask him. So when Sanada lifted his head, their faces were only a few inches apart. "What did you mean? Mind being blunt?" She asked, but to her surprise, Sanada stepped back. _Too_ abruptly and it made her frown. She _really_ wanted to hear what he meant. Somehow… it made her feel… hopeful.

_Ah…,_ she mentally sighed. _'How odd… Sanada only says a few words and suddenly Seichi doesn't seem that bad anymore.' _

"Tell me." She repeated, and stepped several meters to him… and to an uncomfortable distance with Sanada. "Tell me."

But when he didn't say anything, she was about to ask again, but she was shut up by Sanada's hand on her head. She found her fila cap (that she was just holding since she drank from the fountain) was already in her head. She looked up and Sanada was pulling _his_ cap down and she could barely see him.

"Oi."

"Find that out for yourself." He said, and started walking away.

Ryoma could only stare at his back in puzzlement.

**…**

**"TARUNDORU!"**

"A half-an-hour break will be given for the final matches per block." He said, and he said their block last. "…and Yukimura and Echi-"

"There is no need for that." Seichi cut him off, earning everyone's puzzled gazes.. "I am tired. I shall forfeit my match. Ryoma-kun, is that alright?"

"O-Of course." She said and walked closer.

"A-Are you alri-"

"I am." He said dismissively before she could finish, effectively making her stop getting any closer to him. "I will get ready for home, I suggest you do the same." He said and turned to Sanada.

I will lead the rest to you." He said firmly and Sanada could only nod. When Yukimura looked away, he stole an inconspicuous glance towards the seemingly apathetic cross-dresser near him. Their eyes did not meet, and Ryoma just walked away, just like that.

Sanada frowned.

But he mused that this was none of his businesses.

* * *

_Sigh_

Ryoma placed the final piece of attire back to her bag and put it neatly to her back. She closed the locker, and finally proceeded out the room. She just finished getting ready using the boy's locker rooms. She actually had it for herself (Seichi had personal faculties at his disposal), and headed to the aforementioned faculties slowly. She knew she got ready faster than he did, anyway. As she walked though, a familiar flash of silver blocked her way. She paused and stared at its owner.

"What?"

"Hello, Echizen-_chan_~" Her eyes twitched.

"Che. Calling me by a feminine way would insult me?"

"Why would it be offending?" he smirked. "If it were true?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." She muttered and walked past him. She knew Niou had a knack for attention, but she had no time for him, nor was she in the mood to. As she walked though, he said something disconcerting and make her halt her steps and her heart to stop.

"I overheard your little 'talk' with the fukubuchou earlier."

She barely showed her surprise, but it was definitely there. And she knew he was not lying. "You-"

"I won't tell though. Don't worry." He said with a sly, sly, smirk on his face that she couldn't help but think he was planning something.

Sanada warned her before, too, to beware of Niou Masaharu's 'fun'.

"What do you want?" She asked guardedly, and his smirk stayed there as if she were a prey and he was the wolf. She despised this feeling. Even if she had been passive for a very long time with Seichi, he was never the wolf.

"Straight to the point eh, missy?" he paused, and combed his hair back with his hand. "I will, too then. Have _one_ date with me as a girl, and I'll let this go."

She stepped back, aghast. "Are you black-mailing me?"

"Yep." He nodded as a matter-of-factly. "But it would basically be just half a day!"

"I can't. I have a job to do."

"But you're going home."

"He'll look for me."

"Will he?" He said mockingly making the aura around her change considerably. She glared at him and he, too, stepped back. "_Okay_. What if I tell you he suddenly had a large workload to do inside the safety of his home? It _is_ less than a week before the district tournaments."

Silence passed for a while, but her guarded stare did not falter. "Did you pull anyone else into this?"

"No, of course not! I just overheard Yagyuu saying something like 'a lot of workload' and neither he nor Yanagi are unavailable later on. Ever wondered why practice had been cut so short?" He paused. "Knowing Yukimura, he probably would have pushed training until night if it weren't for their requests."

"…"

"So…?"

"What if he asked me to help him?"

"You don't sound so sure…"

Ryoma was not going down so easily. "But what if he did?"

"Then we'd do the date on a different day." She groaned. "Besides, considering your interactions with him earlier on, I'm fairly sure he wouldn't want to see your face."

_Well, that hurt_.

She wondered if it showed in her face.

It probably did…

Niou's surprised face showed it. "I… didn't mean that! It was a joke."

"Fine."

"_Eh?_"

"I will go with you on your 'date'."

"You will?"

She nodded without looking and turned around. "Finish your match early and meet me at the house before noon."

"Got it! See yah~"

She did not realize that Niou let out a victorious smirk as he watched her slowly disappear from his view.

* * *

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

They reached the house without speaking a single word to each other. They separately greeted Rinko, who just arrived back from Tokyo, and went up the stairs. They paused in front of his room and he opened it. But just before closing, he paused and looked at her.

"I'll be finishing some work in my room. Don't bother me."

"Of course." She nodded. _So Niou was right_. But… just to be sure…

"Can… I go out?"

"Pardon?" he said, looking at her.

"For a walk."

She saw him raise a brow. "With Sanada?"

"…_Ha_?" she voiced out, utterly surprised. _Where did that come from?_

But before she could ask that, he was already closing the door. Her brain did not register the smirk on his face.

"Seichi-"

"Do what you like."

_SLAM_

And just like that, the door had been shut.

**…**

About half-an-hour later, down the kitchen, Rinko was innocently washing the dishes. It was her first chore since arriving back from her weekly days off, and it didn't take long for her to hear quiet footsteps down the stairs. Seichi announced he wouldn't be getting out any time soon so it could only be her daughter.

She sighed and decided to speak with her about the intensified atmosphere between them. This really _had_ to stop soon.

But those thoughts were cut immediately as soon as she saw her daughter. She was… well, _not_ cross-dressing.

Rinko squealed. How long had it been? (kyaa!) Her Reina was wearing a dark brown sleeveless turtle neck, and a humble flimsy skirt several inches below the knee. She even used the doll shoes she bought her all those ages ago!

Ohhhhhhhhh how her daughter had grown to such a fine woman!

And not to mention they were _finally_ making some progress. She couldn't help but glomp her cute, cute, little daughter.

"K-Kaasan. You're suffocating me."

"Gomen, gomen." She looked behind her. "You look gorgeous? Siechi would be so sho-"

"He would not see me." She said firmly, as if ordering her.

"What?" She then looked over the stairs and opened her mouth to yell. "Sei-"

"_What are you doing?"_ Reina vehemently whispered. "He is not to know about this."

"You mean he still doesn't know?!" Her eyes widened and Reina took it to her advantage to escape from her interrogations.

"Ja. I'll be back sometime tonight."

"R-Reina-" But she was already out the door.

Rinko puffed her cheek in annoyance and hurried to get her mobile phone. She let out a deep breath and impatiently tapped her feet as she waited for the ring to cut.

"_Moshi Moshi?"_

"Honey…?"

"_Oh, Rinko-chan~ miss me already?"_ Her husband teased, presumably sending her kisses. But she was not in the mood to flirt with him. So she let out a large exhale shutting the flowers getting transmitted on the phone out.

"Nanjiroh..?

We have a problem."

**…**

_Creak_

Ryoma went out of the gate and looked left to right, finding Niou dressed up in a casual attire and rested his back casually behind the brick wall of the house's barrier.

She frowned immediately. He was shamelessly gaping at her. "Oi."

He chuckled. "Well, I knew you'd look good- but _this_ good. I gotta say, I'm surp-" He was cut by a hand on his arm forcibly pulling him far from the house.

"Can we get on with this already?" Ryoma muttered impatiently as she pulled him to a safer place.

Niou chuckled. "You're weird."

She ignored him and appraised his attire. "You got dressed?"

"I'm always ready." Niou smirked slightly pulling his printed blue shirt forward to make his point. "Besides, I forfeited my game with Jackal for you."

"They allowed you?"

"I faked a stomach ache."

"That's just offending."

"The stomach ache?"

"The pretending you have a stomach ache."

"Your master isn't much better."

She stared at him, looking apathetic, but internally musing how to escape this topic. "Where are we going?"

He smirked and held the side of her waist to lead the way. "Tokyo."

"E-_EH_?!" Her eyes twitched. "Oi. I did not know of this."

"But you agreed without knowing, didn't you? Or did I magically hear wrong?"

"The latter."

He scoffed turning directly to her now, and she knew he was appraising her a bit as he spoke. It irritated her to no end. "…your master has nothing to do with it?"

"Of course he does it's my duty to include him in all of my decisions."

"Interesting." He said and continued walking to the bus stop. She could only stare at him suspiciously and follow. "But other than with him, you really don't look like a pushover.

"…and yet you are."

Reina frowned. "I'm tired of this."

"Why? Did Sanada tell you the same thing?" Niou said with an annoying smirk, but it disappeared when he saw her phone out. "Oi. What are you doing?"

"Texting him."

"Why?"

"So that he'll punish you for blackmailing."

"You're that confident he, the stoic former captain, would do that for you?" he said with that confident smirk on his face. She frowned. Maybe he was right, maybe he wasn't. Who cared? He annoyed her. Period.

"I'm texting him for the integrity of the team. Black mailing me should be punishable by death."

"Oi, Oi." He grinned as he stole the phone and raised it up as far as his arms could reach. Did he think she was a kid? But no worries. She sighed, coolly stared at him, and got to it effortlessly.

"Oh." He said. "Impressive."

"Don't underestimate me, tricky bastard."

"Ouch." He feigned a sob. "We'd think you'd be more sophisticated."

"Whatever."

"Ne, Echizen-chan." She stared at him. _What now?_

"Oi, oi. It's not like I'm gonna strangle you or anything-" He replied defensively. "But really… how could that mysterious master of yours not know? Are you sure?" He was pertaining to her cross-dressing.

"I am."

"How confident…"

"Of course."

"Now I'm praying you're tired from all the talking."

Seriously this guy had tried to read her a little too much. His observation skills were useful inside the tennis courts, but outside? It was nothing but an irritating quality.

"Don't listen then. Someone of _your_ calibre can tune what a lowly person like me has to say, right?"

She frowned. "That's right."

"Blunt."

"Thanks."

"But I'm curious. You get offended by his actions, right? I saw it." He chuckled. "You don't see him as normal guards look at their masters, don't you?"

She frowned at him. This topic was beyond un-likable. "If it was that obvious, why point it out?"

"_Because _it's entertaining."

Reina rummaged her brain for a comeback, and frankly it wasn't hard. It never was, unless she was speaking with _that_ guy.

"No. " She corrected. "_Because o_utside the tennis courts, doing things like these are the sole sources of your ego

"You try to manipulate people and see their reactions. Making them lose control." She said, glare not diminishing at all. "Just like a kid."

He shut up. Reina nodded.

"Good." she noted, before returning to her walk towards Space Land.

"You know..." That was Niou, a few seconds later, and Reina frowned. _Does he ever shut up for more than 5 seconds?_

"Teasing people like you... is thrilling hobby."

"Not really. It's just cumbersome."

He laughed. And wrapped his arm around her neck and led the way. Of course, Reina's eyes twitched in disgust.

"Oi."

"Well," He paused since Reina was pinching his poor arm. "_I'm_ certainly going to enjoy this trip."

He held her shoulders tighter and she quickly sent him her strongest glare. He looks immune to them by then though, unfortunately.

"You might as well enjoy this with me, right?"

.  
.

**END OF CHAPTER XI**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER XIII: Space Land**

* * *

**REPLIES TO ANGELS**

**ChocoMickey- **Ahaha. Sanada does like her 'that way' lolol. Poor guy, he gets friendzoned. xD And yay! Ranking tournaments. The first one wouldn't be... much though. Thx for the comment~**  
**

**MintLeafeon- ***le gasp* You wanna kill Niou?! lolol. And yay for awesome guys like Sanada. Hope there are guys like that somewhere... hahaha. Thank you for the comment~! xD**  
**

**DragonFire Princess- **Who? I mean which pair are you referring to? lololol. And your questions shall be answered... eventually. Ahahah. Gomen, gomen. xD And thanks for the review!**  
**

**o0VioletPhoenix0o- **Thank you for the review~! And maan, do I miss Ghost Hunt. Naru might be one of the most mysterious characters (in terms of feelings) everr! xD And yes, Yuki is undergoing utter denial and will remain doing so for... er.. a few more chaps? *cackles* I'm so evil.**  
**

**BrokenBlackCat- **He is! Hope I have one just like him. trololol. And the person in the bush? You'd find out soon. Gehehehe. And of course, thank you for the review~**  
**

**Mutsumi Ayano-** *cackles* I can't imagine him keeping it all in either. xD Poor guy. Haha. And you guessed right! Niou was behind the bush. And who knows what he's planning. Nothing too diabolical tho. ;) And thx for the comment~**  
**

**TFD- **Thank you for the review~! xD And I understand. I get scared opening any accts in public places lol. And Holy-I killed you!? *forces Sanada to do CPR on you* Gyahahah**  
**

**xXRandomnessPrevailsXx-(Ch1) **It is Reina~ hehe. Like in my other two stories. xD** (Ch2) **lolol. 'Bishies are essential' indeed! xD Marui's in a totally understandably unfortunate position. Yuki's just too pretty! xDD** (Ch3) lol. **Yayy! Enticing fan-girling is a very awesome thing for us to accomplish. lololol.** (Ch4) **Nyahahha. I dunno why but I love love stories on dense people. Lol**. (ch5) **Yay non-lovers LQ. XD And when you're all excited like that a special thanks for pausing to tell me what you thought that chapter I want to send. xDD** (ch6) **Hai~ Ryoga's in the story. He'll appear in a few chapter I guess. Depends! lololol** (Ch7) **Indeed! haha. There are just good and bad points in every personality Nyaha. And yeah, too much focusing on tennis can have its repercussions lol**. (ch8) **Thanks for pausing and reviewing every chapter! xDD And yeah~ I personally love the part with the wig too lololol**. (ch9)** I'll take making your life complicated as a compliment. xDD Hope I can improve things for poor Seichi in the future. I repeat, in the future. loool** (ch10) **chapter 9 you pity him and now you don't! *cackles* I love it when that happens. xD And bulls-eye! It was Niou. Beware of the troll. And finally, THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS.**  
**

**xDarkxKurox- ***cackles* Cap Pair banzaiii! xDD And haha- glad you like how complicated it's becoming. lolol. Thank you for the review, btw, and I love you too. xD**  
**

**AnGell012- **Your feeling's right! It is Niou. Haha. And really? Glad I helped with your mood. School coming can really cause a bummer. =.= Hehe. Thanks for the comment~!**  
**

**Guest[1/18/13]- **Sensual Pair scenes coming... in a few chapters. Ahahah. I'm sorrry! xD Hope you like Niou for now tho. He won't be causing much drama but he'll take the spot light for a really short chapter. Gehe. thx for the review~

**Soul Vrazy- **EH? *panics* What do you mean? I checked my last reply to your last review (ch6) on Chapter 7... I don't remember saying anything with 'also you' in it. T_T Gomen nasaaaiii!**  
**

**JigokuTenshi834- **Yes, yes he should! Not so soon tho. Trololol. And the secret's not so much in the crossdressing as the reason why she became a guard in the first place. *wink* thanks for the comment~**  
**

**Yuki Masaharu-***fangirls with you*With such awesome readers and reviewers how can I find the heart to abandon this story? looool. In any case, thank you for the threat- I mean,comment! xDD**  
**

**Natasya Ivashkov- **Really? Awesome! Glad the long chappies was worth the effort then. xxD And glad you're having fun~ Thank you for the review~! ;))**  
**

**shanagi95-** No worries~ The accidental hearing won't cause much drama. xDD Really, Niou's for comic relief. ahahaha And thank you for the comment~!**  
**

**Darkspider- **Ryoma being attached to Sanada eh? That's a nice way to put it. lol. And gyahaha, the paraphras ing you did was so funny! xDD And yay! We talked you know 'update today' or something. Joke. But yeah. Hahah. And attached to Tezuka? That would be sooo cute! Hahah. Dunno if it'll happen yet since I think I'll do the Seigaku thing after- whoops. Almost slipped. *cackles* Thanks for the review~!**  
**

**Manda Louise- **I'm sorry! I'll try to er... turn it back somehow! lololol. Not now though. Gyahhaha. Thank you for the comment. xDD**  
**

**deadlycute17- **Yep~ You guessed right. xD Niou shall be entering to cause weirdness here and there lol. And thank you for the comment, btw~!

**kikumarucat- **Yeah me too! xD I get why many people dislike Sues but the degree in which they are disliked is, as of now, beyond me. Hehe. And thanks for looking at my profile~ I look at everyone's profiles all the time. xD [Stalker here! lol] Thx for the review!**  
**

**Quixling- **You smelled correctly. Hehe. But don't be disconcerted. xD Niou won't be bringing in much... negative... drama... lololol. Thx for the comment!**  
**

**FranscoiseLaraLapis-** Gehehe. Sanada deserves the feeling. xDD I partly ship them anyway. Nyahahha. And banzai for Sanada-hentai-kun lololol. Thank you for the comment, btw~**  
**

**Chaos43- ***blushes* Glad you thought sooo~! Aahahah. And Ryoga ran away because of the tradition thing. I'll get to that later. ;) And actually, the original version of the spy behind the bush was Niou _and_ Yagyuu loool. Ended up with just Niou tho. xD And finally, thank you for the review and I love you too. ahaha**  
**

**WhitewingsFlutter- **Oh yeah, his hair is so complicated I never really perfected it either. xD And about the spelling, people are saying the single i and some double. I settled with the single cuz' it's easier to write looooooool. Anyway, good luck at the drawing and thanks for the comment. xD**  
**

* * *

**...**

* * *

Thank you for reading!

But it would always be so much awesome-r if I know what you thought! xD  
So... please review/comment/flame/rant/fangirl/etc? Ahaha**  
**


	12. The Road

**Thank you for the amazing support so far! And seriously, how can I _not_ update weekly with so many reviews coming in after a week of update? THANK YOU SO MUCH MINNA-SAMA~! *hugs*  
**

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

* * *

…

* * *

**CHAPTER XII: The Road**

BUS TO TOKYO

Echizen Reina stared at the window and purposely tuned out her seatmate, as well as the curious stares of the people around. With her hearing she could tell they were saying some supposedly flattering things like 'That girl's pretty' and 'they look cool together!' etcetera etcetera.

But as far as she knew something she was born with was nothing to be proud about. Most of the time, it was even troublesome. Unless it was tennis skills, which she honed as she grew up as well. She was especially thankful for being given that talent.

Leaving that line of thought, she proceeded to rummage her brain for new ones—new and more interesting ones, to be precise, since it was getting annoyingly harder to ignore the noisy silver-head beside her.

She managed to tune him out all the way until they went down the bus. She nonchalantly went down the bus's staircase.

_Tap Tap Ta— _

_Choo!_

She felt something soft on her cheek followed by a few muffled squeals.

Her eyes widened, and the moment she realized what he just did, she glowered and—

_**BAM!**_

…Placed a clean punch on his face.

_THUMP!_

"Ouch!"

She stared at him as his arse sat on the cold asphalt pavement in anger. He looked distraught though and he was holding his cheek.

"O-OI!" He yelled as she turned his back on him and started walking away. Darned bastard seemed to have nothing better to do than kiss people he blackmailed on the cheek in public. She'd rather not be seen with him.

She stomped away hoping for some time alone. Sadly, Niou did not ace those reflex and speed training for no reason.

"Echiiizeeeeen~" he called, then walking beside her, his accursed long legs ensuring it was not much of a challenge to keep the same pace as hers. "C'mon. You were ignoring me so I did all I could!"

She heard him pause. For about a second. "It was your fault, you know."

She stopped as well, turned, and sent him a very strong glare. It made him freeze, to a point, and she started stomping away again.

"Oiiiii!" She kept ignoring him.

"_Echizen-chan~"_ Ignore.

"Mighty bodyguard-chan~" _Ignore_

"Hmph, don't tell me that was the first time a guy kissed your cheek." Her eyes twitched. Suddenly, she remembered that night… when Seichi 'slipped'. She blushed several shades of red. She didn't notice her feet stopped moving, again.

Niou ran to stand in front of her and his eyes widened immediately at what he saw. "WHOA!" He exclaimed in amusement. "I—pfft—I _can't believe_ it! HAHAHA"

He stopped and wore a teasing grin. "…Is it the bocchama?"

_Silence _

His eyes widened even more in disbelief. "OHMY**GOD**IT_IS_!"

"…"

"Pfft—HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"U-Urusai." But he kept laughing. Her eyes twitched. "If you don't stop I'd freaking punch you again."

Niou sweat dropped, but his teasing smile never left. Probably never would. "Hai, Hai~"

He let out a scoff again when he was walking a tad ahead of her. "Kukuku~ you androgynous kids suit each other." He cackled. She flinched and gestured to run after him to give him a **beating**, when—_poof!_ He was already out of her sight.

She looked to her left, then to her right, no sign of the tricky bastard. But instead of wasting any more energy in him Reina only sighed to calm herself down. It didn't take long for her to completely compose herself.

She continued walking at a normal pace, soon turning her sights to the bright clouds.

She wondered what_ he_ was doing right now. Did he realize she was no longer home? Probably not.

Reina let out one more deep breath before realizing she was touching her cheek. The one Seichi kissed, that was. She blushed further and found her eyes stuck to the pavements.

_RINGRINGRINGRINGRING_

Her ears perked at the sound of the bell, urgently trying to get her attention, but she was too distracted. When it got close enough for even her loud hearing to register the danger, she lazily just looked behind her.

It was a bike. As cliché as it might sound, it was running directly towards her.

Mentally, she sighed. Again. In exasperation.

_Well, she was in trouble wasn't she?_

* * *

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

_CLANK!_

A small clank made by a small piece of metal abruptly resounded across the room. Yukimura stared at it. It was an expensive pen, and it would still work. After all, it was a top-of-the-line piece of art.

In any case, he just felt like making it roll forcefully to the wall. He then stared back at his paperwork. It had been an hour since he sat there and barely any work had been done.

He was much too distracted.

He tapped his finger on the wooden study table that probably cost at what most people would call a fortune, unconsciously. He realized this was going nowhere so, after a sigh, he decided to use his last line of defense to sanity. He pulled back a closet, the one second to the bottom, and looked at the notebooks and pens neatly arranged in its floor.

He placed his hand inside and clicked a hidden lever and he pulled the rest of the drawer out, revealing a think hard-bound notebook that had intricate designs adorning its cover. He lifted it up and neatly placed it on top of his table, he opened it and realized he was only half-way done that notebook.

He was impressed, really, he had been writing at it for four years now although not quite everyday he wrote there quite often—especially after he got it from his mother, and then… when Ryoma came to his life. He let out a breath before he started writing everything notable that happened so far. He never started with a 'dear diary', not after the first entry. It simply didn't sound right.

He knew that once he read through them, he'd feel very embarrassed. But nevertheless, it became a habit to keep things out of his mind—especially, thoughts that he seriously did not like.

He left off, it seemed, with the training regime he created. Of course he puts that on official papers, considering he would never read through this diary, but he still found himself wanting to write everything related to tennis in. And Ryoma—that darned _boy_ that kept plaguing his thoughts.

_Ryoma. Ryoma. Ryoma._

_What annoying name_, he started out for reasons he partly didn't understand. He ranted about the lies his own bodyguard committed and how a person who he just met found out way before him, his own master. He didn't realize he ranted about that, and that alone, for a whole page when someone knocked on the door.

_Knock Knock_

He blinked, and finally realized his daze, and hid the notebook underneath the plethora of paper work. "Come in." He said, part hoping it was that boy (perhaps to give him a piece of his mind), but it was Rinko.

"Care for some tea?"

"Ah." He said, massaging his forehead. "Thank you, Rinko-baasan."

"No problem." She smiled, and placed the cups neatly on the side of the table. Rinko surveyed his work load. "Those seem like a lot. You know, Ryoma could have helped you with that."

"I don't need it, thank you very much."

"Okay, just saying. But I would have preferred him doing school-related things instead of going on a date."

He could only stare at her.

"What you don't know?" She almost gasped, somehow it seemed a bit superficial but he couldn't care any less. That boy was on a bloody _date_!

His vision, for some reason, was gaining some reddish tint. And unfortunately, Rinko was in the mood to talk about that day, too. "He looked all dressed up and all…" She said with an disconcerting chime in her voice.

"I… see…" Seichi could only huff. "If that's all, then I would appreciate some time alone."

"Oh?"

"Hai." He said firmly and she shrugged.

"Well, don't… hesitate to make me call him back~"

"Hai." He said without looking. "I don't think I'd do that though."

She paused. "I… didn't think you'd be so lenient."

"Lenient? Oh no, I just didn't want to see his face at the moment. No offense."

"…none taken." But he didn't say anything further, and after he heard a small creak of the door, he found himself slumping on his seat. He stared at his work load and perhaps he had already ranted enough to be distracted from annoying thoughts.

But… they said that when one was studying, even the wall was interesting. But Seichi liked studying, and yet the wall looked extremely enticing at the moment. Especially the ceiling… he looked up and felt the feeling of the headrest at the back of his neck.

It was as if the backrest of the chair was absorbing his energy and he found himself blankly staring at the ceiling.

It must have been his lack of sleep lately.

His vision soon blurred, his lids started shutting down, and then there was black.

**…**

_London, 15 years ago_

_A classical sound of a Sonata echoed across the hall of their slightly above-average house, small fingers gracefully glided through the keyboard, and two adults looked at their offspring with pride._

_Yukimura Seichi was three years old. His tiny hands were then doing wanders with his miniature piano. His parents sat beside him, pride filling their dark orbs. His relaxed smile turned into a grin after pressing the last note. His mother clapped demurely while his father patted his head._

"_Good job." _

"_Arigatou, tou-san, kaa-san."_

"_My child's so talented, no?" the young blunette beamed and stood up to hug his mum's belly, a belly that will contain the newest member of their family. "Happy anniversary, mum, dad!" He yelled, before grinning._

"_D'aww…" His father said and his mother chuckled before patting his head. _

_After a while, they finally stood up and Seichi was getting ready to bid them goodbye for anniversary date. But then his father leaned down to his level and grinned. "I want to buy you new pieces."_

_Seichi blinked._

"_Want to come to our date?"_

"_Eh? Shouldn't you two be alone though, Dad?" He tilted his head in wonder. The man was muttering something like 'too cute!' and looked at his wife who nodded in agreement. _

"_I can?" he asked again, just to make sure. They nodded, and once again he embraced his parents like no tomorrow._

…

_They were in their humble car, which was proudly almost theirs. Seichi was hearing something about an 'installment' and soon it will be theirs. He was sitting at the back with his parents up front, and they were chatting about random things when his mother suddenly turned to him and smiled. _

"_Did you know, Seichi? Close friends of ours gave birth to a beautiful girl a few months back. You should meet her Seichi~"_

_Seichi didn't register that sly, anticipating, smirk behind the smile and only beamed back. "Okay." And his father let out an amused chuckle._

_Soon, they stopped over at the music store. Seichi excitedly ran to inside the shop and his mother came close after him. His father was slightly left behind as he still needed to finish the locking the very manual car. Seichi, realizing he had been rudely excited to leave his father behind turned back watched his father walk towards the door through the shop's window curtain. _

_But for some reason, a bad feeling overcame his stomach. _

BAM!

_He heard tons of screams and gasps, even when he was inside the store. Things literally just swept by, too quickly to register everything. Later he would find out that it was a motorcycle in a rush, using the sidewalk to escape from officers._

_And that his father was in the way. _

_He stood there frozen, and blankly watched as his father laid there bleeding. Many people came rushing to him, and he turned his head when he heard a loud 'thump' beside him._

"_Kaa-san?" _

_He saw blood inside the shop as well, and it was coming out of his. Seichi fainted, but those memories will remain engraved in his head. _

_And at three…? Childhood amnesia kicks in. _

_That would be the oldest memory he would ever remember. _

…

_13 Years Ago_

_His father's short term memory was affected, so his mother was always with him. The accident affected greatly his subiculum. But for some miracle, more efficiency was given to the other parts of the brain. The doctors said it was truly unbelievable for his father to improve so much in other areas. As if some information could enter long-term memory immediately, while he forget many supposedly banal things in life a second after they occurred._

_Their already growing business boomed by then, thanks to that odd ability. And yes, Seichi did understand that, albeit rudimentarily, at the young age of five. _

_One day, his father had a business speech and his mother sat behind the crowd. Seichi, who was beside her, watched the crowd and soon saw kids who looked like siblings. He asked why he never had one as soon as he got close to them._

"_Why?" He voiced out again. He knew his first sibling was never born, he disintegrated and became the blood that came out of his mother. He didn't exactly want a sibling though, in all honestly, he was really just curious. _

_His mother only smiled before leaning down for a whisper. "God wants us to focus on you."_

"_Is that fair?"_

"_If he thinks so then it is." She looked at the pillar of the house, making his speech in front his idiot board only containing the pertinent information that could not be stored in his short-term memory._

"_Be a good child to your father, okay, Seichi?"_

"_Hai!"_

…

_10 Years ago_

_A good child, he became—someone everyone associated with him will be proud of. That was then his purpose. And occasionally, when his mother needed some rest, he was the one to accompany his father to make up for the loss of his short term memory. _

"_So… we will build this building on this part of land."_

"_Why are we going to put it so far in the road?" His father asked the Architect. Seichi looked at them and quickly remembered. _

"_Father… when a large landscaping was mentioned, you seemed to like the idea so they decided to put the large building far from the road." _

"_I see…" _

_And business carried on._

_After that, they decided to take a walk. Exercise seemed to be one of the things his father must not fail to do. At the age of eight, he followed his father's every move and ensured he was safe. But they came across two… girls? They looked like men, and soon a few other men-looking men approached them and kicked them from behind. They laughed as the men-women shouted in indignity. _

_The mean men then walked away laughing, avoiding the women's lethal handbags along the way. Soon the two men-women stomped away. _

"_Why were they bullied?" He found it weird and mean, but still._

"_They are called gay people, child. They are shunned by society." His father said apathetically, he would probably forget even having this conversation. "They are humiliated."_

_Humiliated…_

"_Isn't that unfair?" _

"_It was their choice to be what they are, son. They reaped what they sow."_

_Seichi frowned. People, individuals, of his culture were much too deeply associated with their family names. Were these people so __**selfish**__ as to bring their family shame? _

_Seichi frowned. Gay people—they are disgusting, shameful, and selfish._

_But then… several angles and expressions, made by a single face, occupied the screen his mind made._

He opened his eyes abruptly.

He frowned. His dreams usually ended up with the accident, rarely did it went beyond that. He must have been too used to it already that he could go beyond it.

Nevertheless, that _face_. It bothered him. He wouldn't even go to the thought that he'd seen Ryoma's face in his dreams to the point it was more than abnormal.

That boy…

His fist clenched. How many days had passed since he found Ryoma doing things behind his back. It was so intolerably disconcerting he really wanted to consider firing that troublesome boy.

Troublesome.

Really, it felt like Ryoma was doing the opposite of his job description. Being unreasonable, being moody, being puzzling, being disconcerting…, making him feel worried. It seemed even his 'diary' was of no help this time.

He frowned and found himself palming his face.

Darn him.

But then still not moving, instead of feeling fully awake from his dream. His eyes soon shut once again…,

Just to see those faces once more.

.

**END OF CHAPTER XII**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER XIII: Space Land**

* * *

**REPLIES TO ANGELS  
**

**Shanagi95- **Gahahah. Who knows... perhaps he just likes to... smirk? xD And you'll see their match soon! I didn't put it in the prev. chap since it felt a little... early, I guess. Haha. Thand you for the comment, by the way~! :D**  
**

**deadlycute17-** Maybe he will, maybe he won't. Who knooows~ Nyahhahaha. ButI'll probably keep the serious-for-Ryoma men limited in number tho. A big harem didn't quite fare well with my other Fem!Ryoma . Thx for the review!**  
**

**BrokenBlckCat- **Yes, the date will probably be a disaster! *Cackles* And Seichi forfeited because it... wasn't the right time? loooool. And yay for girl's clothes! Ahahaha Thanks for the comment, btw~!**  
**

**xDarkxKurokox- **Indeed! I'm a cap/pillar pair fan cuz they are just PERFECT! Haha. And yes he will be one of Sei-chan's biggest rivals. *cackles* I dunno if Niou'll listen to your threat though. LOL. Thanks for the review~!**  
**

**ChocoMickey-** Seichi will find out... soon. Nyahahaha. And yes, Niou is very kind. xD *Smirks* And, of course,thank you for your review! ;DD**  
**

**PurpleScorpion- **You're back! *hugs* Ahaha. But nooooo- nothing shall be impossible! hahah. Seichi shall redeem himself... someday... somehow. Looool. But mah, I do get how much lovable Niou and Sanada are compared to Seichi tho ahaha. Seichi-the-douchebag is quite the challenge. xD Thx for the review~!**  
**

**Natasya Ivashkov- **Perhaps 2 to 4 chapters. Not sure yet, so I'll just do my best to make the wait for the grand revelation to be worth it. Lololol. Thanks for the comment, btw~!**  
**

**TunaForDessert- **Gyahhaa. I killed you again? Who shall I force to CPR you now? *grin* I'm glad you liked the decision of delaying the match! And you're right, it'll kill the appeal by half. xD And... how could I not make them run into other regulars? *Cackles* Thanks for the review~! D**  
**

**FudoYuki- **But at least you are here now. xD Thanks for the review~! And glad you thought its getting complicated in a good way! haha. Hope I'll keep it up since it will get even more complicated, albeit I'm not sure if they're good lol. Thx for the review!**  
**

**DragonFire Princes- **Here it is~! And barely a week after the last update too! *very very proud* And thank you for the revieeww! xD**  
**

**JigokuTenshi834- **Hahaha. Yay for the trickster~! 3 And I agree, poor Ryoma. Life's getting complicated for her. Thanks for the comment, btw~!**  
**

**0539Sg- **Thank you for the review~ And you will soon. In a few chapters (I hope) we will see more and more and more YukiRyo moments. xD**  
**

**DawnStarLight-** hahaha. Why do you say though? lol. I'll call Niou and you shall give him a hug. lololol. Thanks for the comment!

**MintLeafeon- **EH? You wanted to kill Niou? ahaha. And here's the very quick update~! *super proud* Thank you for the revieewww~! xDD

** o0Violetphoenix0o- **They do? How could they overlook the super awesome Niou? Trololol. And yes! Ryoma could look so pretty in girl's clothes~ It'll be a shame not to let anyone else see. *cackles* Thanks for the review~**  
**

**Yuki Masaharu- **Thank you for the review and here it is! Kya~ Ahahaha. Oh, and I estimate he'll find out in 3 or 4 chapters. Hehe.**  
**

**kikumarucat- **Yukimura smirked because he was relieved she wasn't going with Sanada. xD And I shall not say anything else about the date. Nyahhaha. Thanks for the comment~!**  
**

**WhitewingsFlutter- **Gyahahha. You can do it! Draw Yukimura the douchebag. He'll look pretty no matter how much he's brooding. lolololol. Thank you for comment, by the way~! xD**  
**

**Flickering Hope- **Glad I surprised you then, whatever I did. Ahahaha. Thank you for the comment~! xD**  
**

**Zwolftd- **Gehee. I hope this chap cleared things up for what is keeping Seichi back~ Ryoma'll come after. Perhaps after a few more chaps. Ahahaha. Thank you for the comment!**  
**

**FranscoiseLaraLapis- **Ryoma'll notice... eventually...when the complication level is not 9000. Hahahha. And yeah... Niou's super bored. He'd be both great and bad as a for the review~!**  
**

**xXRandomnessPrevailsXx- **I did? That's awesome! In any case, it was an adorable story tho. ;) And hahahah.I love MArui and love making him the comic relief chara. Trololol. And most of what's holding Seichi back is revealed/hinted in this chapter already, hope it was enough. xD Btw, Yuki PMS worse than Ryoma. LOL. And... shall we hug Sanada together? Haha. Oh,and thanks for the review~!**  
**

**DigimonLoveForever-** I'm glad you like the inclusion of Niou~! Hehe. He's just so lovable in a different way, no? xD And thank you for the review~!**  
**

**Guest [1/28/12]- **Yukimura shall find out in more or less 3-4 chaps... I hope. Not sure if I'll ever tell Akaya. hahahaha. Poor kid. xDD Thanks for the comment, btw! :D**  
**

**Darkspider- **indeed, wait til' he finds out...in a few chapters. Loooool. And yes, they're such kids! But... mostly Ryoma and Seichi aren't ready to enter the sacred space we call the tennis courts for a game together just yet~xD Glad I managed to keep her IC, too, esp. in the all-important matches. And this seems to be extending to a long story..., thanks to the _awesome_ support you people give .

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...

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Thank you for reading~!  
But it would be so awesome if you pause for a few more minutes...,**  
**

And let me know your thoughts? :D


	13. Space Land

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

**WARNING: **No Yuki-kun here. xD

**A/N: **Thank you so much for your support minna-san~! Especially to those who let me know of their support via review, fav, subscriptions, and HUUUUUUUGSSS!

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…

* * *

**CHAPTER XIII: Space Land**

TOKYO

"Oi! Watch out lady!"

"YOU! In the name of justice, _Stop_!"

"Give me back my bicycle d'ahou!"

Echizen Ryoma felt a gust of wind pass her, as if someone so quickly went past her, and a millisecond after that... she watched a bike approach her like the idiot she could be, forgetting she actually had the reflexes to avoid it. She swore for a nanosecond to punch Niou after this for forcing her on this date.

"O-Oi!" She blinked at the yell, and a fast running bicycle went past her (in front, not through her, fortunately) at the speed of sound. She looked down on her stomach and saw huge hands enveloping it protectively. She followed it up and saw a familiar silver-head, sweat very much visible against his pale skin.

"Whoa there, Echizen-chan. Watch where you're going." He grinned. "You'll get fired if you keep being careless, y'know?"

"Let go." She said. He was too close. Some memories she'd rather not have in public were rousing and they needed to be stopped.

"No thank you?" Niou wore an expression of surprise and disapproval, but she knew it wasn't easy to offend this guy. He just didn't take things seriously. And she wasn't in the mood either. Especially when his hold on her only tightened, apparently to rouse some sort of cute reaction from her.

Her eyes twitched.

"Let _**go**_."

And in an instant- that he _did_, raising his hands up as if she had a gun in the process. "Grumpy pants."

"Urusai." She said and started walking away. Niou moved his hand and it somehow ended up behind his head, and started following her.

"So… where are we going?"

"Home."

"Our date—"

"Is done. I did my part."

"Oi, oi! A date is when you go to _various _places…,"

"Home. Street. Bus Stop. Bus. Tokyo. Street. Check."

"Experience a lot of things together."

"We walked, we jogged, we rode the bus, we walked again, you disappear, I look, we saw a bike together, you pull me out of its way. Check."

Niou puffed his cheek, before grinning slyly and leaned down. Her eyes twitched, and the fact that some people stopped their stroll just to pry did not help at all.

"…"

"Get closer…?"

"We already are, are you blind?" She spat, before stepping back. Niou blinked before cackling, and following behind her once again as she stomped to who-knew-where.

"C'mon, Echizen-chan~ Space Land is fun!"

"I don't care."

"Why don't you take a break sometime?" Ignored. And she did not even bother making any sort of facing expression.

Niou puffed his cheeks again. But this time, the level of seriousness was higher. He, Niou Masaharu, was never ignored, especially not for long, and without any reaction too! Other than the regulars he knew for 6 years of course, and he wasn't particularly glad they ignored him from time to time, either.

Heck, his trickster ways were honed because he wanted to make sure attention was on him when he wanted it. He was not going to lose to this feisty little girl! No, no.

Besides, he disappeared for a with that, his sly grin returned.

"Echizen-chan~"

Ignored.

"You want to get back home to Yukimura-sama that soon?" She paused her steps and froze.

"O-Of course, he's a person I am responsible for."

"Are you, now?" he paused and slowly went ahead of her. "Are you sure you just didn't want to see his face? His chuckle? His smile…?"

"..."

He turned in anticipation but he was still, frankly, quite surprised. His eyes widened as soon as he saw her expression. Her eyes wide and dilated, cheeks wearing beautiful shades of red. It was seriously cute, and Niou couldn't help but utter.

"…tsudere?!"

"**…**"

"HAHAHAH- TsunTsun Echizen-chan~" He teased, even when his insides was pounding louder than ever. Ryoma was quick to return to her usual façade.

"I am _not_ a tsundere!" She yelled, still managing not to squeak but she was thoroughly embarrassed. How did Ryoma knew of the term's meaning? She didn't. But she was sure it wasn't good _nor_ true.

"That's what Tsunderes say."

"Go away."

And she decided to walk for her dignity.

.

.

Silence occupied the air between them, with her guard all the way to its maximum. But frankly, after what Niou said she couldn't help but think of Seichi and his weird, seriously inconsistent, actions. She couldn't tell if he was being odd, or her rational skills just weren't enough to make anything out of his actions…

Frankly, Yukimura being the former wouldn't fit quite well. The flaw should lie with her, that was how he portrayed himself and his distance to others.

"Ryoma-kun?" Someone called her name with a surprised and confused tone. She halted, and for a second so did her chest.

It was a very familiar voice—belonging to someone who wasn't supposed to be there.

"What are you doing here?" He asked and as she turned, she noticed a little too late that his face was an inch away. It didn't come any closer, but the memories of him 'slipping' that time still kept flooding her head.

She didn't even want to imagine how red she got. Again.

But soon enough, the red caused by something indiscernible turned one of utter anger. That twitching of the mouth, a prologue to a cackle gave this gig away.

She wanted to strangle him..., BAD. It was just Niou—_Impersonating_ Seichi. And he was then stifling his laughter, hs face red as a tomato as well but due to hyperventilating.

"S-SO cute!"

"Temee—"

**_BAM!_**

And before Niou knew it he was already on the sidewalk's paving, begging for his life. He gulped and she stared him down. She was stronger than anticipated.

"I'M SO SORRYY!"

Her eyes twitched at his purposely stupid/pitiful sight he made of himself. "This…is not worth it."

And for the nth time that day, she walked away. She ignored those people who seemed to have been following them for a while as if they were shooting a movie or something. They went too far when they started cheering for Niou though.

"Go after your girlfriend, man! She's too cute to let go!"

"Ganbatte silver-head-kun!"

"Go!"

And as if they were the energizers he was waiting for, he suddenly sprinted and was then walking side by side with her again. "You heard them." She only sent out a glare in reply. "Oh c'mon… I'll treat you to wherever you want to eat for lunch there!"

"…"

And then, seeing her incessant silence, he sighed. "Half-a-day without the guy you love should be bearable, no?"

_Doki._ "Wha—"

"Hahahahhahh~"

"I'll kill you someday."

"You already did-pftt-HAHHAHAHAHAH!"

Ryoma's eyes twitched.

_**BAM!**_

And so he was punched to the sky.

* * *

SPACE LAND, Later

"My pretty face."

"Oh, stop whining." She muttered, and complained to the heavens why the heck she was still there. _If only he didn't make a threat of pretending to be Yukimura for the rest of her stay in Rikkai._

She knew she should have went home anyway. Since not doing so meant she succumbed, that she lost. But… she couldn't risk showing more than she already had! Besides, she made a rationale that it was only to keep him from being a bother to the unknowing Seichi, too, which was not exactly a lie anyway.

So she entered the supposed heaven of the children in a very, very, foul mood.

"Look. If you stop frowning like that I'll stop teasing you."

"…"

"Deal?"

"Whatever."

She then started to look around. She realized her bad mood really did mask the amusing atmosphere the place had. It was called Space Land, for a reason, too. Large planets and rocket-themed rides, with full of happy users, enveloped her view. She was frankly, quite amazed. She barely didn't show it though.

"Want to ride that one?" Niou asked pointing at a roofed structure some meters away from them. It was a weird contraption and she started batting eyelids. She narrowed her eyes and saw the sign saying 'Flying Fiesta' which was a weird name for a space-themed ride but that wasn't the point.

It looked seriously dizzying.

"Never rid one before?" She shook her head.

"How long were you a guard again?"

"A few years."

"So you've been to theme parks before…?"

"…" The answer was no, and Niou seemed to have got it.

"Seriously?" He looked at her with incredulity, before grabbing her hand and grinned. "Then the more reason to enjoy this, then!"

**.**  
**.**

_Blurrrrrppppppp_

"Well…," Niou paused looking at the pretty girl who was vomiting her breakfast and her lunch on a large garbage bin. Several passer-bys stopped their steps in concern (nice folks) but he smiled at them politely, meaning to send the message that they'll be alright.

After all, a person like Echizen would not appreciate pity. So there he was, teasing her.

"I can't believe you'd be bad at those rides!" He paused. "And we started out with kiddie rides, too!"

"But you friggin' kept spinning those space-themed teacups!"

"But that's what they were meant to do."

"That one should be more fun. Lets eat something afterwards" He pointed at the rocket coaster. Her eyes twitched. But she was dragged in, anyway.

And… she was vomiting her stomach out after that. Not that there were much left.

"…you said this was going to be fun—bluuurp." She glared at him.

"I thought it would be better!" He said, quite honestly. He felt really guilty now. She shook her head.

"Water."

"Oh. I'll go get some. Stay there and don't get lost!"

"Che." She muttered and sat down on a bench. She let the back of her head rest on the bench's headrest and watched the clouds when a huge shadow ruined her view.

"Hello, young lady."She frowned and tilted her head so that she could see behind her while maintaining her lazy posture. She blinked.

It was a mascot. A large bear with planet-shaped balloons. "Want to learn the secret to liking those rides?"

She stared. "Who… are you?"'

"Saa… I assumed you could read?" he said pointing his large stuffed paws on his shirt. It said 'Mr. Muggles'.

"Mr. Muggles?"

"Hai. So do you want to hear the secret?"

"Is it for free?"

"Saa… maybe for a pretty girl like you, yes." She stared at him. There was something about this… bear… that reminded her of Seichi, but shrugged it off in the end (that was just insulting). The bear seemed to have read her reluctance as that of anticipation and continued his 'revelation'.

"The secret is to let go." He whispered as if everyone else was listening to their conversation. "Accept the… thrill, and forget all other worries."

"Well, that sounds awfully happy-go-lucky."

"Well it's much more enticing than spending the day vomiting no?"

"…"

"Thought so." He said. "Mah, it's up to you to apply the secret though. Here."

She stared at his extended hand, and then looked at the rocket shaped balloon. "How much?"

"For free."

"You're going to be fired, Mr. Muggles."

"Not if I pay for it." She blinked and quickly took her wallet out. But as she took out a bill, and looked up.

The bear was gone.

Ryoma could only stare at the balloon.

.

"Oiii!" Niou disrupted her daze with his looking idiotic, running to her in slow motion as he raised his hand (waving) and the other (the one with water) followed his movements. "Here."

"Domo." She said and drunk the whole thing in a gulp. Niou looked at her other arm and followed the string. From afar, he thought it was a ride.

"Where'd that come from?"

"A nice and mysterious teddy bear gave it to me."

"A pedo bear."

"…maybe." She shrugged and looked around. She pointed at a restaurant, with the eat-all-you-can sign."Treat me."

"What?"

"You promised. And tricksters keep their promises."

"That doesn't—"

"Real tricksters don't have to lie. They manipulate people with the truth."

"Where'd that come from?"

She sighed. "Let's just eat. My breakfast and Lunch is gone now." As their eyes met, Niou's twitched under Reina's stern one.

An Eat-all-you can buffet with a very hungry growing girl? And at an expensive restaurant inside an established amusement park, too!

And Niou could not stop his wallet from burning.

* * *

NISPEATERY

"Aiya~!"

Purplish red hair shone as it was swirled around by a finger. It was not easy since it was extremely straight, but the owner thought it was cute. He hoped his companion, his _beloved_, did too. He was holding his lover's beautifully calloused hands and smiled.

"Yuushi. Thanks for taking me here."

"Of course. We need a break from our diva of a captain after all. He was in an especially bad mood lately, too."

"Any idea why?"

"PMS?"

They chuckled at that. But their gossip and playful talking behind their beloved captain's back was cut by the sound of the bell ringing. Gakuto was the one facing the door, while Yuushi really did not pay much attention other than his parfait, which he was playing with using his free hand.

"Oi. Oi… Yuushi." His lover called softly, patting his hand. "Look. Isn't that Niou?"

Oshitari turned and followed his boyfriend's line of sight. And there he was—Rikkai's famous Trickster—with a rather beautiful girl. They watched them as they placed themselves somewhere near the buffet at the adjacent restaurant, knowing full well they'd be staying there for a while.

Oshitari and Gakuto stared at each other and smirked, started to assume things. They heard about Niou being a playboy and all, hooking up with gorgeous girls. After a few minutes they turned their heads again to the 'couple' and saw quite a bit of plates. Odd thing was, most of it was on the girl's side of the table. The girl had a rocket-shaped balloon tied on her hand as she ate. And even as homosexuals, they found her seriously pretty.

They couldn't tell if the trickster was serious with her or not though… and with that, Oshitari knew what was coming next.

"Let's go, Yuushi." Gakuto said and dragged Oshitari across the joint aisle of the shops and stood to their table. After all, Gakuto was an idealist when it came to love. Seeing a possible train wreck-to-be in front of him…? His lovely would not be able to just sit back and watch.

Oshitari noted that the girl was prettier up close, but she looked nowhere near reactive. Gakuto remained his usual bubbly self. "Yo, Niou! Who is it this time?"

"This is Echizen Ryoma."

"Familiar last name."

He nodded. "Yeah." The girl stoically stared at them. She did not seem all that flimsy considering she was in a date. In fact, Oshitari was sure she was the opposite of flimsy.

"Dare?" She asked stoically and he could feel his lover's hand twitch. Perhaps the red head realized they were not needed.

"Ah. I am Gakuto Mukahi and this? This is my boyfriend Oshitari Yuushi. We play doubles." He just said, presumably to change the topic. The girl looked at him and he could only nod.

"Tennis?" She voiced out, interest perking up her voice.

Gakuto blinked. "You play tennis?"

"Hai."

"Cool!"

The girl stared at Niou. "Ne. I wanna play." And his eyes twitched visibly. Oshitari gaped at them. This was not the interaction he expected the famous trickster playboy/trickster and his pretty date to have.

"Whoa there. Let's at least have some fun here in the amusement park. Entry here is not cheap!"

Oshitari was interested. "I agree." He looked at his date who, fortunately, had a similar idea with him. "Want to have a double date?"

"…" She looked as if she was pondering. "Tennis date?"

"No, normal people date." Niou corrected and she pouted. Oshitari could see they were all gaping at her. What could they do? It was a sin to be so cute. And people liked committing sins. (Oshitari realized he was making weird analogies but shrugged in the end).

"So where do we go next?"

"Arcade." Niou paused and looked at the girl. "Been there before?"

"Yeah." She nodded, as if remembering something that happened far back. She closed her eyes to stop her reverie.

"Shall we?"

And their double date begun. Gakuto was seriously excited.

**…**

ARCADE

They stood in the middle of the theme park and stared at its impressive arcade. It was a whole friggin' building…! And Ryoma, whose only memory of an arcade was tiny (and already enlarged to her small size back then), was especially impressed. She wondered how Ryoga would react to this. He brought her to arcades sometimes when he babysat her.

And it was already dark, then, so the bright lights were especially enticing. Gakuto grabbed Oshitari's hands, and Niou grabbed hers. She glared at him from the back, but again… he was already immune.

They played a lot of games and started out with a martial arts game, which after 2 games, she was already dominating in."This is easier than I thought..."

"No fair!" Gakuto yelled and Niou who looked impressed, didn't seemed surprised at all. (She _did_ beat him in real life just a little earlier.)

"How can you be so bad at the first minute and unbelievable at the next?! You friggin' Mary sue!"

"…ha?"

"Che." Gakuto puffed his cheek and stood up like the sportsman that he was. Oshitari chuckled at his lover's mood swings. He wanted to be a hero of love and now he was acting like a kid. So, him, the more level headed one in the couple pointed at the games with stuff toys inside (Oshitari always wondered why he never looked up its name).

"Want one?"

"Eh?" Gakuto looked surprised before beaming, and embracing him tightly. "Arigatou, Yuushi~! I love youuu~" He said and they walked to the game, with Gakuto holding his boyfriend's arm tightly.

The two though remained oblivious of a certain Echizen's stare. _They are gay?_ She mused in incredulity. She knew the atmosphere between them was different—like young boys that are seriously good friends.

Before they PDA'd like lovers, their interaction reminded her of her and Seichi's... before he turned hostile. But Seichi abhorred gay people.

_Wait a minute..._

Her eyes widened at a possibility, and stood up. She was stopped by a hand over hers. "Where are you going?"

"Where are you _still_ touching?" She spat back hurriedly. She needed to get back home. "I want to go home."

"But we haven't even played beyond a game yet."

"I don't care." She said, semi-ignoring Gakuto's cheer for Oshitari to get the bright colored stuffed pig.

She frowned, but before she could utter anything, the other couple was already calling them.

"Here! Look here! Let's play!" Gakuto yelled as he stood in the Dance Revolution Game. They soon started dancing and Niou held her hand tighter to drag her there.

"Oi."

"One last game and you're free. Deal?" He paused. "We have to win, though."

"…fine."

.

.

_/A few minutes later/_

"W-Whoa! They freaking beat us!" cried Marui and shook Oshitari vehemently. Hyotei's tensai only shook his head. The pair was still playing though, and still a few more moves left to finish. But that only would determine how _much_ they would win. This is a huge blow to the acrobatic Gakuto.

Niou on the other hand, finally got to relax a bit and decided to turn to his partner for a friendly congratulations. But then his eyes widened.

She was laughing. It was silent, but unbelievably light. He did not realize where his feet was going and how uncoordinated it was. He lost his balance.

He felt his whole body falling to her direction—

_**BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!**_

_-Chuu!_

They heard gasps, and Reina did not see what was happening until it was already done. But when she realized, her stomach garbled and she, once again, wanted to vomit. She did not notice the pain on her back, and only the annoyance in her front. That annoying weight above her that she wanted to strangle.

Her eyes twitched. Her eyebrows furrowed. And soon, after feeling her lips, she saw a violent shade of red.

She swore someone was going to die that day.

.  
.

**END OF CHAPTER 13**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER 14: Turbulence**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS  
**

**DragonFire Princess- **Thank you for the review~! Hmn... if you mean the flashbacks then no, it won't happen again any time soon. Or rather... I'm hoping I wouldn't have to. lololol.**  
**

**FudoYuki-** thank you for the review~! xD And glad you thought so! It was fun to write Niou... and Ryoma's cruelty to him. *Cackles* Which is why... I made this chapter full of 'em! Hahahaha**  
**

**TunaForDesert-** It was, indeed, a short chappie. xD I had to cut since it was weird to have the funny NiouxRyoma moments after Yuki's dramatic past. Ghahaha. I tried though. lol. Thank you for the review!Xd**  
**

**shanagi95- **Yes it is too early! hahaha. I would have delayed the revelation chap further (I'm guessing he would find out in 2 chapters or so) if I had any more brilliant ideas. xDD Your questions'll be answered the nextchapter tho. Thx for the comment~**  
**

**WhitewingsFlutter- **Why are you rushing? Don't rush! haha. And no, no, Ryoma was still a newborn when the accident happened. And-Nyahaha-I did try to write in a child's POV. Not easy, with Seichi-sama. trololol. Thank you for the comment btw, and good luck w/ the fanart~ And do you have a DA acct?**  
**

**ChocoMickey- **Gyahaha. "Lucky" Niou...pffttt. And... Rinko called someone everyone couldn'tsay anything to Seichi since it wasn't her place to say anything _yet_.I'll reveal why soon. xD Thx for the comment~**  
**

**FranscoiseLaraLapis- **Indeed! I've always wondered why I only started writing I-want-to-know-his/her-secret scenarios more And oh yeah, I didn't say explicitly what Niou 'readied' when he disappeared, but I hinted it in this chapter tho. ;) Thanks for the comment~**  
**

**JuRy28- (ch1)**SJDHSJDHSH, You're reading one of my stories again~! xD Yay! Hehe. (**ch2)** I'm glad you thought it was cute! Hope you still think so until the latest** (ch9) **Nyahaha. YAY~! Umabot ka ng chapter Glad you felt that way, too~** (ch12) **I'm happy you think it's cute! Ahaha. And I sure do hope I can keep it Thank you for the reviews!

**MintLeafeon- **Nyhaha. So true! Ryoma could so totally do the deed for And I'm glad you think this is getting interesting and funny. Hope I can keep it up til' the end. xD And, of course, thank you for the review~!

**Yuki Masaharu-**More info? Nononono. Hahaha. Too...many...spoilers...must...stop...myself. *Cackles* Ah, and thank you for the review~! lol**  
**

**BrokenBlackCat- **Yeah,but mostly it's the unfortunate circumstances that led Seichi to be firm about being the perfect only child for his kind parents. xD Poor guy. *cough* And nyahahah. Niou arrived in time. xD He just went to ready something lol. Thanks for the comment, btw, and don't apologize for rambling. It was fun to read. lol**  
**

**Flickering Hope-** Thank you for the comment~! And hope the chapter on the Space Land date (this one,chapter 13) was a fun enough read. Trololol**  
**

**kikumarucat-** Lololol. How can you mix the two buchous? Oh wait, they're both awesome. Reasonable enough! xD And haha-she won't be boring this time. Sometimes Ryoma-chan needs to be a damsel in distress! Esp. when she's with a bishie. *cackls* thx for the comment!**  
**

**Natasya Ivashkov- **yeah, Seichi must have been adorable~! xDD I would love to draw him if I didn't have so much at my plate atm. for the comment~**  
**

**deadlycute17- **Oh Seichi will... eventually. lol. It won't be easy tho! He's totally firm on his principles. xD Thanks for the comment~! ;D**  
**

**0539Sg- **No problem. I love replying the reviewers. xD And yeah! is so lovably sneaky. Thank you for the review~!**  
**

**xDarkxKurox- **Hahaha. I would love to see you punch Niou, too! xDD And it's not really a filler chapter, strictly speaking (not that I know what that means) But it is definitely way shorter than usual. Haha. And thank you for the review~!**  
**

**Guest [2/2/13]- **Hehhehe. Thank you for the review, and I'm happy you liked those parts! They were seriously fun to write, I tell you...! xxD**  
**

**DigimonLoveForever- **I will include Niou more (esp. in this chapter), but not as much as many would want though. Hehe. Thank you for the comment~! xD**  
**

**Darkspider- **Ahahahah. And who knooowss~! xD The Seigaku arc isn't up until way later. *Cackles* And about your parents... I don't think it's strange. The person is your friend after all, you can influence their standards and such. ;D And HAHA- She's a bodyguard when they're outside and she's on a date when she's not? Ah~ Annoyed Yuki here he comes! xD Thx for the review~

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**...**

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Thank you so much for reading~!

I would love you even more if you let me know what you thought!xD


	14. Turbulence

**So... did anyone notice the changing coverimages? xDDD **

**Anyway, THANK YOU FOR THE EPIC SUPPORT EVERYONEEE! You guys are the best! Hehehe.**

**WARNING:** Brooding and kind of... confusing. Hopefully, I'd get to explain some loopholes to you in due time. xD

Please don't hesitate to review, minna-san! :) I loooove to read all of them and thanks in advance for giving me extra bits of your time. xD

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**…**

* * *

**CHAPTER XIV: Turbulence**

"_Previously on Preservation: I ki—"_

"Who are you talking to?" That was Gakuto, staring at Niou with a mix of anxiety and amusement. Mostly the latter though.

He grinned. "Oh, me? I'm just breaking the fourth wall." Just before turning to where Ryoma was. She was already walking away, of course. Niou coughed and quickly ran after her. He barely felt the large bulk on his face, he'd been through worse.

Well not really, plus they were caused by angry boyfriends of a few girls that fell for him. He did though, had an instinctive idea he would be going through much more pain if some other guy (or guys, he wasn't sure yet) was to find out about their 'accident'.

"C'mon~ It was an accident!" He repeated as he ran after her, not apologetic at all. It was, admittedly, a fortunate little accident. She didn't answer and he continued to bug her.

"Urusai." She finally spat, without looking at him. Her expression was unfathomable and very very dark, and if Niou wasn't Niou he would be terrified for his life. The other two continued to follow them, and as Niou started falling back, Oshitari was already patting his back.

"I doubt she'd forgive you. She seemed to be smitten with somebody else already."

And Niou nodded.

"Actually, she—" Ryoma halted her steps and quickly turned around to send them a strong glare.

"Leave me alone."

And so she went... again.

Gakuto actually marvelled how quick she was going, despite her small pace factor. "And... there she goes~"

"Where is she going though?"

Niou shrugged before following. "Who knows…"

"I didn't know Niou could be this pursuant."

"She gets lost a lot." The trickster said as he walked, never taking his eyes off the girl."The guy she likes might kill me.."

"She already has a boyfriend." Gakuto paused in ponder, but actually kept walking. "So the rumors are true! You _do_ hit on girls with boyfriends!"

""The rumors are true, but not this time. She doesn't have a boyfriend... yet. Hmn..." He mused as he continued to follow her. "If anyone (else)'s gonna kill me, Sanada surely will, though."

Then Oshitari and Gakuto halted their steps and gaped, as they absorbed the latter part of what he just said."Wait. Sanada?" Gakuto gasped and Oshitari looked equally shocked. "**Sanada Genichirou**?"

With her hearing, unless she was completely in a daze, she would easily hear their conversation. "And yes... _that_ Sanada."

"Is that so...?"

"Let me heeaarr it~!"

Ryoma's eyes twitched. He knew, by experience, that women could be quite the gossip. Men were no exception, but bloody top athletes? _Seriously_... And towards her friend, too!

She was very annoyed. And frankly she didn't think it was possible.

"Oi." She said, turning around and glared. "Don't you people have better things to do?

_Crack_

She cracked her knuckles to make her point.

And the three stepped back, ska-doodling for their lives.

**…**

_/A few hours later/_

Eventually, Echizen Ryoma arrived back home (as in the street) with those three annoying guys following her.

"Left!" Niou shouted and she frowned. She was going right,but her mind changed and she went left. Not because she listened to him (something she refused to do for more than an hour prior), but because she just felt like it. And there she was standing in front of her house and didn't even bother look behind her.

_Creak_

She stared at the gate as she opened it and willed herself to ignore the three idiots. "Good night, Echizen-chan~"

"Oyasumi Echizen-chan~" Gakuto followed while Oshitari chuckled.

Mentally, Ryoma groaned.

Whatever did she do to offend the gods _this_ time?

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

Echizen Ryoma entered the living room and paused at the sight of her mother reading a book nonchalantly on the sofa. Ryoma frowned in anxiety and looked at the clock.

_11pm._

Oh, man...

"How did it go?" The woman said with her unfathomable expression, but to Ryoma's sharp eyes she knew she was annoyed. Ryoma just mused though, that was due to her getting back home later than usual. (She blamed Niou).

"The date, I mean."

"…fine."

"That's good." her mother said, staring. "You better go to bed now then, Seichi would not want you tired because of something so insignificant."

"Hai" She nodded, not quite sure what to make of her mother's tone, and absent-mindedly went to do as she was told. She was frowning the whole time and a very disconcerting feeling in her stomach did not diminish at all.

_Her first kiss_, she mused, unconsciously holding her lips. She wasn't sure what to expect but shouldn't it have felt at least vaguely similar to that time when Seichi 'Slipped'? It wasn't. It felt totally different— almost disgusting, in fact.

But what she felt was remorse—the _guilt_. That disappointment that her first kiss wasn't…

She stopped her tracks, noticing she was in front of _his_ door. _Damn it_. She didn't think she'd be like any other girl when it came to this. She shook her head and tilted her head to face the door to her room, right adjacent to this one.

And frankly, it felt a hundred meters away.

_Shit_

But then she thought, wouldn't it be impolite of her to just go to her room without greeting him? She had been away for a long time…

And then she frowned again. She was trying to rationalize again. She needed to admit it. She really just wanted to see him.

So, she turned the knob but paused. She was still wearing her dress.

.

For a long time, she just stood there, pondering. Should she get in dressed like this? Of course not, but she really wanted to. But she wouldn't. She wasn't ready. She'd just have to tell him she was not gay, as he probably thought, some other way... for now.

_Seichi... _

Frankly, she felt a bit disappointed to find out his reason for pushing her away was just because of that. She knew how Seichi disliked them, that deep frown every time he saw one was explanation enough. But she thought their friendship was more than that...

But she shook her head of the thoughts, and she finally heaved a sigh before going back to her room to change.

_Creak_

She readied her new clothes and took off her old ones. Slowly, she wrapped that increasingly suffocating bandage around her chest. It had been a while since she had it off for so long, and it was beyond comfortable. But what was she to do? Suddenly enter a man's room and proclaiming she lied to him all this years?

Not to mention she did not have the strength to explain...

Eventually she finished, wore her wig, and she went back out to greet him. She made a slight knock, but there was no answer. Perhaps he was asleep? But she did so again just to make sure, but this time she called, but there was still no answer. So she turned the knob and peeked.

Ryoma carefully looked around the interior, and soon realized that everything was neat and un-moving. It didn't take long for her sights to end up on the study table; A familiar blueish hair was resting on the headrest. Ryoma quickly went closer to check up on him.

"Seichi." She called, but he still remained frozen. She walked quietly until she reached the table and her eyes widened slightly at the sight. He_ was_ asleep, but in a bad position in doing so. And one just didn't see the Yukimura Seichi sleeping in this kind of position often, and in her case..., ever.

Nevertheless, she mused that he would have a _very_ sore neck after this.

So, she sighed and placed her hand to where his pale neck and the headrest touched, in an attempt to get him back to his bed. But just before she could exert the effort to carry him, her hands flinched as it made contact with his blue locks.

_His hair was so soft._

_Hmn..._

Her hands… she wondered where it was going. It started moving on its own. From gently placing his head back down, albeit to a more comfortable position, to his soft cheek, and then… to his mouth.

Her mind went blank.

_Just one_

She just let herself give him one chaste peck on the lips. It was so, so, much simpler and less intimate than what Niou did but if felt otherwise. She stepped back at the realization of what she had done, and quickly separated.

Too late.

He was awake. And she now knew, he might have _been_ awake the whole time.

**…**

Seichi's brain was a mess at the moment. A moment ago he was having this… nightmare…of him kissing a certain male bodyguard on the lips. It wasn't the first time, but he'd rather not think of the implications of the frequency of those… nightmares.

But when he woke up, he immediately heard a knock—hearing that aforementioned bodyguard's voice right after it. He moved by instinct but his eyes twitched as soon as he realize he couldn't move his neck. So he didn't answer. He closed his eyes and calmed, he wasn't even certain what he looked like after that dream he just had.

But then the door opened. Mentally, Seichi cursed. It was immediately directed to his pounding chest that he willed to calm. Ryoma would no doubt hear it if it didn't do so.

"Seichi." He called softly. He couldn't even flinch. He was frozen, literally. Ryoma's voice was being so…_ soft_ all of a sudden, as well. Seichi almost forgot that he was just from a date.

_Date_

Mentally, he cringed at that thought and he wanted to open his eyes and give him a piece of his mind already. But he couldn't without looking idiotic. And before he knew it the boy's hands reached up to his neck probably to carry him to the bed.

But then he paused, and a second later he could feel Ryoma's hand sliding to his cheek then to his lips. The gesture sent a thousand pleasurable lightning down his spine.

And what came afterwards sent him to the verge of insanity.

He didn't realize his eyes were wide open, and so were Ryoma's. Ryoma gasped as soon as he realized he had been awake the whole time. The younger boy stepped back, and Seichi stood up, suddenly having the energy, and managed to ignore his sore neck.

"I… didn't know you were awake."

"Clearly. I'm glad that I was, then." He said coolly, despite feeling the opposite. "How many times had you done that?" The same amount of time he dreamt of doing the same, he wondered.

Or rather, _hoped_...?

No, that couldn't be it.

"And why?"

Ryoma, on the other hand, didn't know how to answer that. Ryoma had no idea how to explain. She didn't know h-

"Are you gay?"

Ryoma stared. This was it. The reason she wanted to speak with him in the first place. "No.

"I...I'm not gay." She repeated.

"Are you certain?" He asked, and she couldn't tell what was in those orbs. That disappointed look on his eyes might as well be her imagination. "You're not telling me this just because you know I abhor homosexuals, yes?"

_Doki_

"I told you I'm not gay."

"You just kiss fellow men out of boredom?"

"No."

He frowned and stepped closer. "Then, _why?" _

Ryoma at the moment _still_ had no idea what to do. She was panicking at his proximity. Albeit odd enough..., she did not regret kissing him at all. It was like the disturbing events that day were all swept away just like that.

New ones roused because of it..., but still...

"...well?"

"I... lived in America. We-"

"I'm not an idiot, Ryoma. I know traditions around the world, kissing you _master_ in the middle of the night as he slept was not one of them."

Ryoma gulped as she tried to weigh everything. The still-rational part of her knew that the best course of action was to just tell him she was a girl. And at the moment, she was actually already _forcing_ herself to voice it out, but the words simply wouldn't come out. She couldn't admit how many times she lied to him like this, nor did she know how to explain _why_ she did it in the first place.

Telling him this was one of her greatest fears. And with Seichi, her bluntness was nonexistent.

Soon, he leaned closer, perhaps unconsciously. And something crept up her face that made his eyes go wide.

"Making that kind of face is unfair."

She blinked. What_ face?_

It didn't take long for her to feel his hand slithering from her arms all the way up her burning cheek. What was going on? His words and his actions were so ambiguous she was going to go insane!

He went closer and her mind was slowly losing sight, but then he asked again. "Are you gay or not?"

"No." But after a gulp came, her brain suddenly made her say something. "Are _you_?"

That did not help.

Ryoma abruptly felt his hand freeze, and slowly it faded away from her. She was part disappointed and partly relieved. But she wouldn't just leave it like that now could she? After all, if he felt disgusted with her kiss as she felt with Niou's, then he'd be keeping his distance… right?

And maybe… he was confused, too…

Because of all her lies.

Maybe it really was time to suck it up, she thought, there was a slim chance he'd act like Sanada—letting her be with her secret until she was ready, but perhaps she'd been too selfish for a long enough time. Seichi might be pushing her away… but he was still her precious friend.

But then he chuckled… sardonically.

"You realize I cannot be gay because I abhor them, yes? Do you have any idea how rude that was?"

"And it wasn't to _me?"_

"Well you certainly act like one."

"I do _not_." Okay, maybe she did considering she really _was_ a girl, but still. That pompousness of his and something else touched a nerve. "But what about you? Shouldn't you be stepping away from now if you thought I was gay?"

His eyes widened just before they narrowed. He only got closer, and hissed. "I'm trying to pull it out of you, to use your attraction towards me."

"..."

"I don't-"

"So you're saying a kiss is nothing special, then?" He asked, using that unfathomable mask of his again. Darn it. But at the moment, she didn't know what she was feeling the most: Embarrassment or… Hope.

Yes… she was having _weird_ burst of feelings every single second. She'll probably die soon…

"And don't tell me you slipped as well?"

"I won't," She managed to utter. "That was _your_ excuse."

"**Excuse me?**"

"Why did _you_ kiss me?"

"Don't bring this back to me." He practically growled uncharacteristically, and walked towards Ryoma all the way until he was practically caging her to the wall. He was pale from anger, and yet that miniscule blush on his face was only fuelled the hope inside of Ryoma.

"I _did_ slip," He said firmly. "Don't be so full of yourself."

"Speak for yourself, o-_boccama_." She feigned a mocking tone, but those shivers in her voice were actually out of pure nervousness. "This is like asking me to admit I am attracted to you without you telling me a better excuse than 'slipping.'"

Ryoma was looking away at the time, and there was silence that came after. She whipped her head back to him when she saw his arm bend on the wall.

Her eyes widened.

It was abrupt but it definitely happened, and when they parted she could swear her heart stopped. But when Seichi adopted yet another mask right after, she couldn't help but do the same by reflex.

"Like I _said_," he huffed, Ryoma couldn't tell if he was shaking of anger or nervousness anymore. "I slipped, and see? A kiss from you means nothing to me." He paused and continued on with his speech. It was long. "All I'm trying to show is that _you don't bother me_. I can do anything I want, but that doesn't mean you can just kiss me out-of-nowhere and not be gay."

Ryoma couldn't say anything. She didn't know if he was lying again, and frankly her brain was not working properly at the moment. She mused her brain probably disintegrated already.

"You are a hindrance, Ryoma, especially now that you are doing idiotic things on your own. I don't know why I still keep you. Perhaps it's because of your family."

_Twitch_

Her façade hardened and she glared.

"Just fire me if you want already, just don't go messing around with everyone's head." She said and pushed him away. "And don't bring my family into this."

And—

**BAM!**

She slammed the door.

**…**

_THUMP_

His back used the wall as its full support, practically dropping there. His legs were useless, and eventually, he could go nowhere but slide down.

_Shit_

"Unfair." Was all he said, huffing, before cursing the gods, and—dead tired—finally falling asleep in yet another uncomfortable position, there on the floor.

.

.

**END OF CHAPTER IV**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER XV: Advancement**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS**

**deadlycute17-** Nyahahah. Thank you for the review! Glad you thought so many of those things are cute. xD And about the bear... haha. Wanna guess? xD

**kikumarucat**- lol. I needed some Seigaku in the chapter. hahaha. We all miss them. xD And yay! GakutoxYushi really is cute, ne? Yaoi side-pairings banzaii~ And thx for the comment. xD

**MintLeafeon- **Niou... perhaps he'd live a little longer. Just because it's illegal to kill. *cackles* Shall we mentally beat him up tho? hahaha. Thanks for the comment, btw~

**Natasya Ivashkov- **Thank you for the comment~! Gehehehe. And I totally agree! Ryoma-chan is uuuubber cute! XD That lucky trouble-maker Niou! D:

**o0violetphoenix0o- ***cackles* When I think of a pedo bear named Mr. Muggles, he's the first person that came to mind. xD Really suits him doesn't it? xD Thanks for the comment as well~!

**xDarkxKurokox-** Nyahhaha. Thank you for the review~! And loool I just couldn't help it- I just _had_ to make someone a tsundere and Ryoma would look so adorable as one! xDD (she reminds me of Killua Zoldyck like that hehe)

**PurpleScorpion [x2! lololol] -** Oh ,oh! I lurve Niou as well. xD Guess Ryoma was just in that bad of a mood. Gehe. And I agree, they'd be fun to watch as friends. Dunno how I'd show it deeply but I'll try. ;D And as for the pedobear... haha. There can be no better guy than him inside right? nyhahaha. That guy's too epic for his own good. Btw, Niou won't die... at least not in this chapter. loooooooooool. Thank you for the reviews~!

**Guest [2/8/13]- **Coool! Hello fellow Southeast Asian~ We celebrate New Years earlier than most people. Gahahha. Thanks for the comment~! :D

**FudoYuki-** lol, yeah. But if I was as good a trickster as Niou-my life would have been too fun so I could die peacefully. lololol. And you guessed right! Seigaku enters, and one is in costume. xD Thx for the comment~

**Yuki Masaharu-** Hahaha. Okay, okay! Depends on what kind of 'info' you wanna read. xD Thank you for the review, btw. xDDD

**WhitewingsFlutter**- Indeed! I'm still whirling about those terms tho. 'dere' here 'dere' there 'dere' everywhere! xDD And lolololo. Fuji the pedobear is really epic wasn't he? He could go and eat whole chapters for all we care. *wink* And btw, you understood right-the dirty pair helped. xD Thx for the comment~!

**shanagi95- **Geheheheh [insert grin here]. Ryoma lusting over his blood, eh? You might be surprised. XDD Thank you for the comment btw~

**anGell012**- Thank you for the comment~! And you guessed right. xD Momo wasn't the only member of Seigaku that showed up in that chap. xD

**JuRy28-** Ohh... well, we missed you here! xD And yes-Niou is so... charming no? XD And yes, yes, the pedobear is no other than your fav. guy. xD He'll probably show up again in a few chapters. ;D Thx for the review~

**FranscoiseLaraLapis- **Nyahehehe. Would it matter which one? They kissed! *squeaks* Now I'm pondering on writen 'em a story. xDDD But no. Thank you for the review, btw~

**Guest [2/9/13]-** *cackles* Indeed! It is him!xDD And about Niou... is he falling for her...? Perhaps, perhaps not. Pfft- And I love you tooooo~ And thank you for the review! xDDD

**DT- **You bet right! He won't be jumping in the love triangle... at least not _now_. Geheheeh. And oh my goodness! I wrote Marui? It must be the hair. Next time I'd be writing Gakuto when I meant Eiji lol. thx for the review!

**BrokenBlackCat- **lololol. Right! Niou should run run run~ hehehe. Dunno when I'll let those two find out for now tho. ;D Let's see! Hehehe. And aboutthe yaoi thing, I could tolerate it now since I have lotsa yaoi loving friends. xD Thanks for the review, btw~

**sweet-Lia- **Here it is! And proud to say in such a few amount of days, too! xDD Thx for the comment!**  
**

**Daraegon- **Thank you for the review~! And here's the update, coming out sooner than I expected~ xDD

**TunaForDesert- **I love you too! Nyahahahha. And yes! I'm writing yaoi now! (I know right) Only as a side pair... but it's a start, no? xDD Thank you for the review, by the way~! And for the lotsa I love you's. xDD

**xXRandomnessPrevailsXx- (ch12)** Indeed! In fact if guys are dogs then... women are cats! Gahhehehe. Ah, in Seichi's case it's more like he brought it upon himself to be the perfect child, I guess. ;)**(ch13) **Right! There can be no better pedobear than Fuji! Gyahaha . And lol. 'Nispeatery' is just one of the few places I named after myself. Some of my other stories are full of self-advertisments from me. XDD Thanks for the reviews btw~ **  
**

**Offtotralalaland- **D'aw, thanks for the review~! And... I'll think about it. I don't think I'd be continuing your story since I firmly believe you'll return! xD I'll try and work on a different story with the plot device we came up witj, I guess. I won't be publishing it anytime soon tho. :)

**JigokuTenshi834-** lololol. He is really dead! Not literally tho. His fans are gonna kill me. xDD Thanks for the review~!

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Thank you sooo much for reading~!

But please don't hesitate to leave some feedback. They are all mean so much to me! :D


	15. Advancement

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

I'm so sorry for the semi-late update! (I updated 3 days late but we all know you people deserve sharp weekly updates! XD) It's just that, yeah, school killed me, but you're incessant support sure did pull me out my despair quickly! xD I was actually not planning on updating anything until March! Haha

**AD!** I officially admin 4 pages now! xD If you havetime and facebook accounts, please like? XD

* * *

…

* * *

**CHAPTER XV: Advancement**

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

Yukimura Yuko and her husband arrived on their home in Japan early that morning, just in time for breakfast. As they ate, she noticed that her son was trying his hardest to entice normal conversations with them like he usually did. But..., to her maternal eyes it seemed much too forced.

His eyebags were especially large as well. She let out an inaudible hum and turned her head to her right and stole a glance of a certain cross-dresser. Curiously, the girl seemed to have lost sleep as well. She wondered what happened…

_Mah_, she shrugged. Yuko's pretty sure she (and her son)'ll probably be going to lose some more sleep soon.

Anyway, she decided to go along with the topics Seichi opened up and reminded her husband then and again of things he should. Yuko had been very used to dealing with her husband's disability now, and it became like second nature to her.

"That's good!" She said, "So the tournaments will start this weekend?"

"Hai."

"Will Ryoma-kun join in as well?"

_Silence_

"You knew?" Yuko for a moment wondered what Seichi meant. She realized it was about the girl's tennis.

"Of course I do, my son." She said, as calmly as she could. How she regretted it, for Seichi sent Ryoma a glare but the girl remained impassive. Or at least, she acted like so.

"_Anyway," _She quickly intervened. She did not go back to Japan when Rinko called her in _only_ to make the situation 's not very motherly, and Kami knew these kids' stubborness had gone for far too long.

"How're… the cheerleaders?" Yuuko finally blurted out. It was somewhat random, but it should do.

"Pardon?"

"Cheerleaders of your team."

"Of course there are mother. Being the number one team in Japan for 5 years is bound to get us a few."

"I see. So any eligible females in there you're courting?"

Seichi froze and Ryoma did too. "Why… would I?"

"Well, I just thought you'd _finally _get a girlfriend after being sent to freedom? I mean you'd have to find someone to spend the rest of your life with soon enough yes?"

"You assume too quickly mother." Seichi sent her that fake smile of his. And his hand was very much suffocating the poor spoon.

"That's good then." She smiled and elbowed her husband. Of course, he didn't remember the conversation so she leaned in to whisper it to him. Just a few words and his especially logical brain already put the pieces together even when he did forget all about the plan.

"We already found one for you."

"...Pardon?"

"She's a great catch, really." Yuko added. "She's pretty, smart, and great at tennis. Her beautiful pinkish-brown hair flows like a supermodel's! She has amazing _curves_, too." She could not help but add the last part, and as expected—the two kids paled.

Yuuko put up that innocent mask of hers. "Why so silent Seichi? Did you really not find a girl yourself already?"

"…"

"Have you?"

"…no."

"So our decision is fine, right? We do this for you, after all." She said not lying at all, albeit Seichi would probably interpret it differently. "Besides, you can meet her first. You'd probably agree either way though. She's _that_ great." She smiled. "Right, anata?"

"Yes."

"Seichi? What do you think?"

"…I'll... be looking forward to... _meeting_ her, mother."

And Yuko beamed and clapped her hands together in glee. "Good! She'll be arriving here before dinner. So be sure to get here right after your tennis club activities okay?"

"…hai, kaa-san."

And man, did she feel like she was being suffocated afterwards.

* * *

RIKKAI HIGH, After School

_Tick __Tock_

_Tick Tock_

_Tick_

"Tsk."

Sanada looked at the clock... again.

'_They are late.'_ He mused for the nth time that hour. He looked around and caught some Juniors slacking. "**Tarondoru**!" he yelled, before looking at his clock again. They didn't have morning practice, so he especially didn't get it.

"Ah~ I wonder where they are… puri!" Niou said as he touched his bruise. Sanada had no idea where he got it from though.

"Where did you get that?" He asked, like he usually would. After all, he cared for his team especially if what they were doing could affect their tennis. Niou shrugged.

"Got into a fight."

"What?"

"With a girl, fukubuchou, don't worry."

"Ah." He said, but before he could completely look away from him again—

"…a girl you know though."

He whipped his head back. "What?"

"You know… a pretty cross-dressing girl with soft raven hair and golden cat-like eyes—"

Sanada cut him off using his strongest glare. "Niou." He uttered darkly, as calmly as he could. Not that it worked. "What _did you **do**?_"

"Nothing." The silver-head only said, and frankly Sanada could feel his insides boiling. He knew his team mate, he was not the one to do 'nothing' given such temptations. "Okay, nothing you need to be concerned with _fukubuchou_."

Sanada sighed heavily. This man must be that bored. "Don't go and complicating her life, Niou."

"Eh?" Niou feigned innocence. "But isn't it already?" It was then that he looked somewhere else. "Besides, they could do that enough by _themselves_." He said pointing somewhere behind him.

Sanada followed his line-of-sight. And there they were: Echizen and Yukimura. And the tension between them was stronger than ever.

"Niou."

"I didn't do anything they couldn't fix." The trickster said immediately and raised his hand by instinct as he glared. "What? Contrary to popular belief. I was trying to make their relationship move y'know."

It was then that Niou let out his disconcerting,and knowing, smirk.

"What did _you_ do to 'help'?"

**…**

Echizen was in a daze. She was frowning and her eyebrows furrowed. As Yukimura went and distracted himself with his duties as captain, Echizen stood somewhere and passively stared out into space.

Sometime after she entered a reverie (she couldn't tell how long it had been) she belt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She turned and looked. It was Sanada. "Want to talk somewhere?"

She could only stare at him as she tried to absorb things, and when she did, she could only nod weakly.

**…**

Yukimura watched as his team as they trained, desperate to make other, more relevant, things occupy his mind. He could even hear, or rather tried to hear, the conversations a court away. There was one court that was particularly loud though. It was Kirihara, and he was yelling at a fellow freshman.

"If you keep that reluctant, how will you move forward?!" The boy cringed in fear and sturdied his stance.

"G-Gomen Nasai, senpai."

_Reluctance. _He knew very well it kept a person from succeeding. And yet… how odd it was that words he heard daily and knew by heart suddenly had a different meaning.

His eyes twitched at the recollection of past events... and how many times had it replayed already? He had lost count.

_We found a girl for you already!_

He frowned further.

…_someone to spend the rest of your life with…_

And he glowered.

When his mother was saying those things, only a _single_ face came to mind: A face flashing with different expressions, in different angles, but still the same face. And he wasn't even a girl.

_PAK!_

He was pulled back to reality by a large thump of a ball powerfully hitting the ground.

"Why the hell does it matter?" That was Marui, it seemed, fighting with his doubles partner. "Just do it!"

There he was again, random words carrying different implications for him.

_You haven't found a person already, have you?_

Once again his mother's voice echoed in his head, every single word bringing uncharacteristic fear inside of him, in contrast to the encouragements and words of kindness they brought.

Yes, he had... found a person already, hadn't he? Otherwise he wouldn't be thinking so much. He simply never dared admit it. There was simply too much at stake that he immediately dismissed the idea. But it never was easy, not with Ryoma.

Frankly he was starting to think it was impossible. Kami knew just how many times he _desperately _tried to push him away, and yet he continued to stay—just to challenge his sanity every time he did so.

Seichi wondered what was going through Ryoma's mind when they were discussing of that new girl…

_Ryoma_

Somehow, he imagined their positions switched and-

A second later he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Yanagi, looking worried. "Captain?"

"...yes?"

"Are you alright? You look pale."

"I-I'm fine, thank you." You let out his fake smile once more, but that nausea was hard to push back. "Excuse me." He said and swiftly ran outside of court. He stopped midway and only rested his back on the wall, trying his best not to make a commotion. He raised his hand and dismissed the worried gazes away and asked them to return to their prior activities.

'_Oh, God.'_ He mused as he tried to normalize his breathing. He... never thought about this before, had he? For it was true he never liked Ryoma and Sanada spending so much time together, but he never thought anything... beyond that.

He was going to meet a prospective wife, but imagining Ryoma finding a lover of his own had been beyond his imagination for God-knew-why.

Unconsciously, he looked around.

Where _was_ that boy?

He didn't notice his feet already started moving, and his gut was giving out displeasing feelings to his whole body. He looked around, habitually looking graceful but he was beyond anxious. His sights found a fellow regular, Niou, and decided to ask him if he saw his bodyguard anywhere.

"Where's Ryoma?"

"Dunno." Niou shrugged and looked around as well. "Ora, Fukubuchou isn't here either." He paused. "They're probably together."

_Doki_

"What could they be doing?"

Niou stared at his buchou for a while, pretending to think. He really was just doing it for effect though. Sanada and he never talked after his little 'challenge' but he knew he touched a nerve there somewhere. Niou knew Sanada would either make a move for the steal or try to help them out.

For the first time though, Niou couldn't tell which one the fukubuchou would pick.

In any case, he decided to finally end the buchou's suffering as he waited. "How would I know?" Niou said, feigning innocence. "All I know is that they're really _comfortable_ with each other."

"…Is that so?"

"Uh-huh."

"Do I look like I'm fine with ambiguous answers, Niou-kun?" he smiled, but even the densest of the dense would sense it was fake. It would send shivers everywhere, really. But Niou, being who he was, did not falter…much. Sweat-drops would be the closest sign of his nervousness.

"No. Hmn… since you want me to be specific…Hmn…"

"You could say fukubuchou's the type of guy who was there for a friend he had feelings for whenever he was needed. Lucky friend, no?"

"_Niou._"

"It's true though!" he said and then surveyed the surroundings quickly. He saw a familiar ice-cream head. "You!"

"Hai, senpai?" He asked and bowed to Yukimura. "Buchou."

"Seen Sanada and Echizen anywhere?"

"Hmn…" The boy pondered before a light bulb appeared in his head. "I saw them go to the other yard. They're probably hanging around the fountain again."

"Again?"

"H-Hai?"

"Dismissed, Shiita." That was Niou, somewhat mimicking Yukimura's ordering voice. Yukimura was busy glaring. The boy could only flinch in terror and bow to both of them and leave for his life. "H-Hai…!" And he was gone.

"Told'ja." Niou added but Yukimura didn't hear. His mind was already on his way to the fountain. Soon enough, his body followed. And Niou watched their buchou as he walked, or rather _stomped_, to the direction Shiita told then.

Niou grinned and his hand sneaked into his pit less pocket to check if 'it' was there.

What is 'it' you ask?

Popcorn of course.

Okay, and perhaps some recording device.

**…**

Ryoma and Sanada reached a relatively isolated part of school, about a few dozen meters away from the fountains where they usually chat outside of courts. Sanada probably knew she had a problem and was considerate enough to make sure no one would hear… right?

"Echizen." He said when they finally reached the destination. It was practically a forest and Ryoma suddenly wanted to climb up a tree and isolate herself there. "Did Niou do anything?"

She stared at him. "He _told_ you?"

"How did he find out?"

"He overheard us yesterday." She said but shrugged. "It was no big deal." _What did a kiss matter anyway?_ She mused bitterly, the events of the previous night was still a tad _too_ vivid. And once again, she was not fast enough to hide it.

"Ryoma." She whipped his head to Sanada's direction. Just what kind of embarrassing expression did she show again? To make him call her with her first name all of a sudden?

"What happened?"

"Too many things to say Sanada, gomen."

"I can make time." He said, with an almost invisible yet all the same reassuring smile.

"To start..," She scratched her cheek and looked at the tree. At the moment, she could only say one thing—for it had been the thought haunting her whole being. "Seichi'll be engaged soon…"

_Silence_

And it remained that way for quite some time. Sanada, eventually, forced himself to be coherent. "You do realize just telling him you're a girl would clear a dozen confusions out, correct?"

"Hai."

"But then, why don't you—"

"Because I _can't_." She said and looked away. "You promised not to ask."

Sanada froze, but willed himself to continue. This was not the time to back down. So, seeing she was not planning on facing him for a while, Sanada had no choice but to grab her shoulders firmly and make her look at him. "Ryoma, you _have_ to start moving. It had been years, don't you think it's time to overcome your fears—whatever it is?"

She looked away again and Sanada frowned. He moved his hand up to her warm (and incredibly soft) cheeks. She glared at him and he gulped. It was hard to keep himself back. Sanada wanted to do a lot of impulsive things at the moment. And if Sanada wasn't Sanada, he probably would have done so ages ago.

"Now, what?"

"…Echizen, I—"

"Hello."

They whipped their head to that direction and paled. It was Yukimura, unsurprisingly, and he was wearing an unfathomable expression. But the aura around him was dark.

"You two really had gotten close. How long has it been since you met? One…, two weeks?"

"Yukimura." Sanada uttered, and gently let her go. He looked way firmer than before and this surprised her. Ryoma thought he was so… soft just a second prior after all. Nevertheless, her sights ended on Seichi and by reflex, to avoid herself from feeling any worse, she avoided looking at him and stared at Sanada's large back.

"Why do you keep emphasizing how long you have known Ryoma compared to me?"

"Oh, so you're on the first name basis now." Ryoma whipped her head to his direction. Did his voice just _crack_?

Sanada nodded. "That's right." And Seichi soon stepped forward closer to them. To their surprise, Sanada placed himself between them.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to my body guard. Anything wrong with that, Sanada-kun?"

"Well no, but we were having a rather personal conversation just now."

"I could see that. What was it about, if you don't mind me asking? You can refuse of course, I was just a curious little soul."

"Ah. We were heading towards my being a homosexual."

Ryoma's eyes widened. _What?_ It was going there?

No, it wasn't.

"Is that so?" Yukimura said, startled, but remained cool just before looking at her. "You seem to be a magnet for homosexuals, Ryoma-kun, despite not being one yourself."

Sanada and she could only stare. _What did he mean by that?_ They mused in simultaneity.

"I assume that you are aware of my... other (homosexual) rivals, Yukimura?"

"Of course." He smiled.

"I am one of them"

**…**

Ryoma watched as Sanada excused himself. Yukimura seemed startled as well. One time he was in an offensive mode, and the next he was passive. And then he was just walking away... leaving her there with a malevolent Yukimura.

_What just happened?_

Then their eyes met. _'That went quicker than anticipated'_ Sanada said, or at least that was what she thought he said, and she could swear there was a sardonic smirk there somewhere. Ryoma's mouth was slightly open as she gaped at wherever Sanada went.

But then before she knew it, her face was already forced to look somewhere else. To Seichi, to be precise, and he was holding her left cheek oh-so gently but his eyes seemed to be in turmoil.

"You look at him too often, do you notice that?"

"No."

"I don't like it."

"Because you're wrong. _I _don't look at him that often."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She said. "And can you please let go now? I'm not in the mood for your games."

"What makes you think this is a game?"

"What makes you think I'll believe your little joke?"

Seichi frowned, but she was not going to back down—no matter how much hope was flowing through her. She couldn't let what happened the previous night happen again. She wouldn't be able to take it.

"Are you gay?"

_Not this again,_ "No." she said, frowning, but before she could point out how pointless this was she was shut up—by his lips placed on hers.

_...wait...what?_

Her eyes widened and she pushed him. "Stop—"

She cut herself of the moment she he looked into his eyes. She was initially mad… but then she saw how much Seichi suddenly had to let go. His eyes… they were unmasked, and so full of emotions.

She was speechless.

"I'm not going to lose." Then… he smiled, genuinely. "You say you're not a homosexual?"

"Then I'll convert you into one, then."

.  
.

**END OF CHAPTER XV**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER XVI: The truth**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS**

**Clavemien Nigram Rosal -(ch13)** Yay! I'm very happy that you thought sooo! xDD** (ch14) **Yes he did kiss her! But you can punch him...to Ryoma's direction perhaps? XDD And I'm really glad you liked the story, the plot, the development! Hope I can keep it up and thank you for the reviews! :DD

**BrokenBlackCat- **Nyahaha. Indeed! We still love him despite him being an idiot. xD But he didn't insult her family tho, he just said something like the reason she was still working for him was because of her family. ;) And lol-hope I'll be able to 'punish' him enough I guess. xD Thx for the comment~

**Natasya Ivashkov-** I want both! xD I mean get annoyed and pity him. Hahaha. And yay! Glad I could still make you leave reviews. Hope I can keep it up and thank you for the review~

**DT- **Nyahahha. Man, she's so lucky... getting consoled by one of those guys you mentioned. xDD I'll tell you why she's so reluctant on telling him she's a girl tho sometime soon. ;) Thanks for the review~

**MintLeafeon-** lol. Their relationship was not supposed to get better any time soon, as you said. But I couldn't help it! Hahahah. Thanks for the comment btw~ xDD

**DemonWolfVampire- **You spell 'cliffies' however way you want! lolololol. And really? Are you sure you should say the cliffies are the reason you read this story? *smirks* thanks for the review~

**o0VioletPhoenix0o-** Nyahaha. Gomen for making you lose some hair. xD I'll explain Ryoma's reluctance further soon. ;) Hope it would remain getting better and thank you for the review!

**Yuki Masaharu- **Thank you for the review~! And yes~ I'll do my best to keep things pleasantly unpredictable. Ahahaha~

**Jogin-Peace- (ch2**)Yay~ I;m glad you thought so! It's good to hear that in chapter 2 as** (ch6)**I'm guessing this was the part where someone saw her play yes? XD **(ch10)** hahaha. Yes, you should! And I really appreeciate you leaving reviews on several chapters. ;)** (ch14)** Hahaha. She won't! Not yet.. xD I'll explain why she's so reluctant soon. xD

**DragonFirePrincess- **Hmnhmnhmn... Depends, what do you mean by 'just like this' when you asked for more chapters like that? XD Thanks for the review~

**FranscoiseLaraLapis- **Indeed! So many geniuses are so oblivious of love. xD Well, it's fine writing those kind of love stories. *cackles* Thanks for the review and hope this chap satisfied your curiosity~ xD

**xDarkxKurokox-** Nyahahha. Those two could get quite frustrating at times! hahah. But sad to say, the advancement was about jerk! Seichi. XD Hope I did justice tho~ Thanks for the comment~

**Kikumarucat-** Indeed! Who else could comfort Ryoma best but the stoic fukubuchou? XDDD Their moment wasn't as lon as I like but I hope it's good enough~ Thanks for the comment! ;)

**Shanagi95-** The answer to your question is-no. I still haven't decided which scenes to actually write down. xD Thanks for the comment~

**aim-** I'm very happy that you thought it was good~! Hope I can keep it up and Thank you for the review~! ;)

**Yuu-** I know! T_T I'll try to make everything else lighter, at least in this chapter, I guess. haha. Thx for the comment. xD

**JuRy28- **hehe. Told'ja. I'll try to clear some of the loopholes soon. xD Syuu will appear... not so soon though. lol. Thx for the comment~

**Shii-** Oh, with the support from you guys I'm getting, how can I _not_ finish the story? lololol. Thanks for the review~

**WhitewingsFlutter-** I know right! Fuji's such a distinct character. T_T And nyahaha-i actually didn't plan the dirty pair's enhanced role in there. They just had lives of their own. xD Thx for the comment~

**deadlycute17**- Gehehe. No, that bear wasn't I won't tell tho. I guess that'll be a surprise in a few chaps. xD And yes! Tsunderes can be cruel but adorable. lololol. Thanks for the review!

**Guest [2/18/13]- (ch5) **Oh my~ They are High schoolers now! How silly of me. xD I'd go change it out and thank you for pointing it out~

**Guest [2/18/13] (1)**- Nyahaha. Feel free to punch Niou. xD I'll just revive him with CPR or something. lol. And hahaha-of course I'd add Atobe. xD What's a harem without him. *cackles* And finally, I love you too and thanks for the review~! Hehe

**(2)**Sorry! There're two of you Guests that day so I didn't know how to reply/call you in any other way. xD Anyway, I get the feeling! I promise it wouldn't last long. xD I'll reveal the reason behind Ryoma's reluctance soon. ;) Thx for the review~

**sweet-Lia-** Ahaha. Well, you don't have to wait long for Seichi to know I'll tell you that. xD Thanks for the comment~

**TunaForDesert- **Nyahaha. Glad you thought so~! xD It was fun to write those scenes but I kinda died several times lol. And whew! The date wasn't stereotypical~ I wouldn't know but, yeah. *cackles* Thanks for the review~! XD

**Kupuruu**- lol. You sounded like a Tsundere! xD But yeah he is an idiot. haha. Hopefully won't be for too long tho~ ;) Thanks for the comment~! ;D

**MysticBlood**- 'Balloon to pop' eh? Nice metaphor~ xD Hopefully the 'popping' scenes was satisfactory enough. But you can be honest Gehe. Thanks for the review btw! ;DD

**JigokuTenshi834- **Ah~ *cackles* but many people react to cliffies and I tend to write the following chapter quicker. Gahehehe. Therefore, cliffies are good! lol. And Thx for the comment. xD

**Darkspider**- lol same here! I dunno, the internet gods are in a bad mood lately. T_T And agree~ The bocchama's too spoiled...? lololol. And you're right! Who else could that pedobear be? Haha. Thanks for the review, btw~ ;)

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...

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Thank you for reading~!  
Hope you enjoyed but whatever you though I wanna hear(or read, rather) all of them!xD

Again, thanks for the support thus far everyone~


	16. The Truth

(I can't stop saying this) Thank you for reading this far guys! Special hugs to those who let me know their thoughts by reviewing, fav'ing, subscribing, and/or adding this to their respective C2s. You guys are _awesome!_

Enjoy the chapter and please don't hesitate to leave some feedback. ; )

**Please Read! **[Summer vacation's coming in a few weeks now. Banzaiiiiii~! And sorry for the late update. School killed me..., and it still does. xD The queue has to be followed as well so I'd have to update my other fics. Hopefully readers of them will_ neve_r get tired of giving some support so I wouldn't take so long on other fandoms. Haha. Yeah, as a warning until April I will most probably be unable to update weekly. :)]

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**…**

* * *

**CHAPTER XVI: The Truth**

"_I'll convert you into one, then."_

After that, Ryoma went blank, especially as he kissed her again. It was so unexpectedly and yet utterly _gentle_, and it felt like this could go on forever. She couldn't think anymore—or rather, she didn't want to.

She unconsciously knew that thinking too much might reveal something that would make this moment stop.

She couldn't let that go on for long, though. Eventually, a part of her started demanding an explanation. Mentally, she heaved a sigh, and put some mind on her hands resting on top of his broad and strong shoulders. It seemed she reflexively put them there to keep a little distance from them as they embraced, and he soon pushed him softly.

"This is hard to absorb, Seichi." She said weakly as he stared at her. He was not appalled. On the contrary, he seemed to be expecting it. And for the first time she saw fear.

She gulped.

Seichi, he... really had let go, hadn't he? That mask he wore since as far as she could remember, overlayed by an ever guarded and more hostile mask a few years back, was showing again... to the point it didn't feel like he was wearing any of his facades anymore.

But she told herself not to lose her footing too quickly. If this turned out to be like the previous night; she doubted she would overcome her depression quickly. And with that line of thought memories.., too many for her liking, sneaked inside her brain.

She looked at him as firmly as she could, and he did the same. "What did those kisses mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

She stared at him. After what happened the previous night—or any other days, nights, and midnights for that matter, wherein he did some ambiguous things? Her answer, without a doubt, was: "No."

They stared at each other for a while, trying to get as much reason and logical abilities back to their heads. And soon, to her surprise (and utter delight) he flushed. He looked away and eyes soon registered panic.

"I panicked. The instinctive reaction was to lie... and say the rudest things. I apologize."

Her eyes widened.

"Ryoma?" He called and she shook her head.

_Fear and lies. _It had been eating both of them. Her throat dried and she looked at him worriedly. Obviously, this was time to clear everything up… right? She took all her courage to speak.

She looked at him serenely, apologetically, and everything that would make anyone insecure. "I'm sorry." She said weakly and he only stared. She sucked it up and gestured to tell him everything now.

"I'm sorry, but I—" But she was (again) cut off by him locking his lips with her. She frowned and gestured to continue speaking when she gently pushed him away.

"Sei—" Again.

"Pleas—" And Again…

Her eyes twitched. _He wasn't allowing her to speak at all_!

Then again, she probably wouldn't be able to utter anything coherent. She succumbed in the end and soon, he finally seemed to calm and he looked at her. "Tell me you are converted now."

_Huh? _Did he misunderstand her apology?

"I—"

"Please Ryoma-kun." He pleaded, out-of-nowhere, surprising her to no end. And he placed his head on her shoulder, and embraced her. Once again, by reflex, she let her arms separate the two of them. Mostly she was embarrassed to be too close; the fact that it was actually hiding her chest area was a corollary she unconsciously created.

"I don't want to marry a random woman my parents chose for me. Not only am I a quirk, but I want to spend the rest of my life with _you_."

She couldn't speak. Not that he'd let her do otherwise.

"What about… your parents?" was all she could inquire about. She was suddenly too tired to open anything else up. She wanted to make sure, first, that Seichi was fully up to this. She knew how important they, his parents, were to him. They were his_ life_, especially his father. Disappointing them was his biggest fear.

She _knew_ that… didn't she?

And then she realized, she was so _stupid_ not to even consider that he really did have feelings for her—stopped by those very fears. All this time, she had been wondering what his feelings for her was and completely forgetting what were the other things that could be dominating his mind. And once again, by thoughtless reflex so shook her head. "I'm sorry…"

"No." He said immediately parting from her. He looked so stern and yet so gentle, and frankly Ryoma could only stare. "I'll convince them. Don't worry." He grabbed her hand. "I'll tell them the truth. So long as you're with me on this."

Frankly? She flushed and her eyes dilated to the largest they could get. Seichi's eyes widened and gave her another, but longer, peck on the lips. He looked so _happy._..

And she went silent after that, completely forgetting that there were a few more things that they had to clear up.

* * *

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

As soon as the car stopped, Seichi practically dragged-carried her towards their parents. They saw their car outside the house and another red one, presumably the girl's. Her heart stomped and Seichi's hand only held her tighter.

They paused in the front door. "You know, Ryoma-kun, you can always push me away. You know you don't have to allow me to drag you along like this." he said, finally, after composing himself by a bit.

"I would never let anyone do that if I wasn't fine with it, Seichi."

"…"

"…"

Seichi eventually chuckled and opened the door. Ryoma was still at a blank state, really, too happy that she forgot everything else. Literally. And it was not good since they needed reason when they finally confronted their parents.

The corridor seemed so much longer than usual, and their steps were slow—not of reluctance, but of the desire to get more time… alone with the other, and for themselves to compose.

Soon, they arrived wherever their parents were and upped their guards. The adults were having tea in the living room but, looking around, there was no sign of the 'girl'.

Seichi held her hand even tighter before clearing his throat to announce their presence. The four adults stared at them and smiled. Ryoma and Seichi didn't know if they could see their blatantly entwined hands but their heads couldn't register everything at the moment.

"Welcome home."

"T-Tadaima." He added, forgetting about such formalities as his mind was in a haze.

"Is there anything you want to say, Seichi?"

It was then Seichi sighed—as if taking in every inch of courage he could muster. Ryoma never saw a side of him before, and her insides were filled with happiness—more so than it already was, and she didn't think it was possible.

"Otou-sama, Okaa-sama, I love Ryoma-kun." He paused. "No matter what happens I will not marry the woman you choose."

After a moment of silence and perhaps ensuring they heard right, the four looked at each other and freaking _smirked_. They didn't know if it was due to the haze their minds were having at the moment, but it was definitely unanticipated.

But then, they heard a new voice that came after a boisterous laugh. "Yohoho! Kids nowadays." The all turned to where the voice emanated from.

Slowly, something protruded from the dining room door. They soon realized it was closed shoes with high heels. It was red, and soon long curvaceous (plump, actually) legs revealed itself.

It was then that they heard Nanjiroh let out a blurp and ran to the common rest room to puke. The women ignored her and stared at the two beffudled kids.

"Seichi, meet the girl we were talking about earlier." Yuko said and they went back stared at the owner of the legs.

Their eyes twitched.

She had long flowing pink hair, red form-fitting dress, and expansive legs—and a very curvaceous form, alright! But…

"Yohohoho~"

It was an old woman!

"This is Ryuzaki Sumire." Rinko said with a stifled chuckle. "We chose her to play this part since any other (younger) ones would fall for you for real."

The two kids stared.

"What we we're trying to say is, kids, Ryuzaki was never engaged to Seichi in the first place." Yuko smiled. "that would just be disturbing. No offense Ryuzaki-san."

"None Taken."

"…"

After a minute or so, Nanjiroh returned and he and the old woman glared at each other. One saying 'disgusting Old hag' and the other 'brat' and 'I could definitely bring it!'. At he looked at their idiotic arguments, Seichi finally caught enough cool to speak.

"I still do not understand."

"We needed to move, after Rinko called—saying it was time to intervene." Rinko nodded.

"Yes. You're stubbornness is beyond the limits kids." And then she smirked. "Besides, it looks like it worked—seeing that you're holding hands and all already."

The two blushed and _almost_ let go of each other's hand in embarrassment, but simultaneously went against it. The other's hand felt much too… right to even try to let go. But realizing Ryoma was willing to hold his hand until the end, Seichi took yet another breath and maintained the little bit of composure left inside him.

"Please explain further."

"We… vote for Ryoma. You two were arranged to be married ages ago."

Seichi looked at them with incredulous, but utterly hopeful eyes. Ryoma on the other hand, _gaped_ at them.

"You do not mind that I am gay?"

_Silence_

And several pairs of _very_ anxious eyes met, including Ryoma's.

Had no one told him she was a girl yet?

_Oh_, right.

**.**

**.**

**…**

_/several minutes later/_

_Knock _

"Seichi…"

_Knock_

"_Seichi…"_

_Knock Knock_

Still there was no answer. Ryoma stared at the door prior to heaving a heavy sigh. They told him right after and was _he_ shocked. It was understandable, and after he glared at all of them he walked out of the living room and locked himself up. Ryoma followed him as soon as she got over his heart-breaking glare.

"Seichi..." She called again, but when there was still no answer she shook her head. She wondered what could get him out that didn't involve breaking the door...

She then looked at the ground, and then to the doorknob. "Seichi. Don't lock yourself up in your room like a child."

And after a few seconds of waiting at the door, it opened.

"Like a child?" he scoffed. "Speak for yourself."

"I'm sorry I forgot to tell you on the way here." She heard a sardonic chuckle.

"I was too happy." _Silence. _And he looked away.

"Besides… I _did_ try to tell you back at school you know. It was just that you never allowed me to finish." It was true and for the first time that argument, he looked at her.

"Seichi…" She whispered and walked closer. He upped his guard and slightly diminished the opening of the door.

"I'll do anything you want just let me talk to you face to face."

"I _am_ looking at you." he said, doing just that to make his point. She shook her head.

"No, you're not. You're looking at my _direction_. You're forcing yourself."

"What's so bad about trying to be objective? For all you know I might be strangling you if I wasn't." She frowned.

"What's the big deal, anyway?" She said as if she didn't know. "You're not really gay are you?"

And with that, the door opened revealing a very angry bocchama. He frowned and grabbed her arm to drag her in.

_**BAM!**_

"Don't you _get it, you idiot!?" _he yelled right in front of her face as he caged her in, back resting on the wall adjacent the door. "You have no idea how _confused_ I was trying to dismiss the **desire** I have for you. You had no idea how hard I tried and you just keep making it harder and harder for me—no matter how many times I push you away."

"I didn't realize—" She didn't realize before that morning behind school, but realizing that that same morning was not early enough. It was why she apologized, but then he went and assumed things and she wasn't able to explain herself.

"Of course you didn't, you're an idiotically dense idiot!" Ok, great, now he wouldn't let her speak again. "Was it fun to pretend to be a boy?"

"It wasn't. But you'd fire—"

"Oh, I woul—" She cut him off too, by doing the same thing he did. The kiss lasted for a while until Seichi finally remembered he wasn't supposed to succumb and he pushed her back to the wall.

"That's not fair."

"You were kissing me back though."

"Tsk."

"So are you firing me as your fiancée, too?"

"…"

"Well…?" They stared at each other for a while, trying hard to remain calm despite feeling the other's warm breaths. It wasn't easy, but Seichi was a Yukimura for a reason.

"I will not accept the bethrodal, not unless you tell me why you lied."

"I…" She looked away. "They said they'll explain everything downstairs. Shall we?"

"No." He said, pinning her down firmly. "I want to hear what you know from you."

She stared. It would only be fair to agree, right? Besides..., her reasons. They were not that deep and they were thoroughly selfish. Perhaps it was the main reason she was so scared in admitting it.

"I get why you had to cross dress to be my guard." Seichi initiated, finally walking back a step to give both of them some breathing space. "Why did you become my guard anyway?"

"I highly doubt it's because they wanted an unconventional way for fiancées to meet. Correct?"

"…"

"Tell me."

She could only look down, before finally looking straight to his eyes. "I'd like to apologize in advance for my selfishness and the suffering I brought upon you."

He nodded. "Indeed." He walked closer and held her chin. "I'll be expecting a good reward after this. Perhaps a minimum 10 kisses a day would suffice. Is that understood?" And he kissed her cheek.

"You bloody pervert." He laughed and stepped back again. She heaved a sigh, deciding to finally get it over with. She sat down the floor in Seiza and Yukimura followed.

"Seichi…" She said and looked at him. "One of the things I admired about you was that, even under the insane pressure on you, you never faltered." She paused, blushed, and looked away. "Not like I did."

"You?"

"Hai. Four years ago…"

Seichi stared. That was around the same time he was hospitalized, as well.

"We had an extended vacation here in Japan, at the request of my grandmother." She said scratching her cheek. "The family lived in America before that, but…"

"But?"

"My brother, Ryoga, was supposed to guard you." She said with evident sadness in her eyes that made Yukimura regret he ever asked. "But he ran away.

"It devastated everyone, including… me."

"Somehow tennis was the only connection I had with him. Karupin, too, of course. But I'd rather not share him."

"I spent all my time for tennis, but I was never able to beat father. I felt it was because of my... biology." She reluctantly looked at him. "For a while, I didn't seem to improve. It soon got to me.

"My mother, too, who was a lawyer back then… was worried for my lack of social skills."

"And like you... their opinions are important to me. And you could say that even with my pompous attitude, my ego gets crushed when it came to the people that mattered."

"I met a friend... with a similar situation. Our ideals met and there was more reason to what I did appeared.

"I just wanted to run away.

"And I did."

There was a long, awkward, and domineering silence between them after that. Ryoma was too embarrassed to speak, and Seichi could see that. Frankly, Yukimura didn't think further. He just felt... guilty of making her speak.

Don't get him wrong. He was glad to finally know. And the fact that she was afraid to tell him because she didn't want to disappoint _him_ and that she admired him from the beginning made him happy. But to see her relive those events, to recall the pain she caused her loved ones... was excruciating to some degree even for him.

He extended his hand and held her cheek up so he could see her beautiful golden eyes better. It quickly widened when he took her in his arms. He smiled. "You don't disappoint me."

"And the fact that you came into my life because of what you did was a blessing." He smiled and he felt her twitch. So please continue with your story." She twitched again, probably surprised that he knew there was more in the story. He wanted to hear it, and he was there to make sure that she, even under the pain she'd be reliving, would know he was there.

"Please." he repeated and held her tighter. For the first time, she wrapped her arms around him and they realized how well they fit. Ryoma shut her eyes and held him tighter.

"This was supposed to be punishment."

"And frankly? I didn't quite feel punished at all. First because of you... and second, because I deserved much worse."

He flinched. "No you do not. Having your freedom stripped away like that should be-"

"I'm not finished yet Seichi." She intervened softly.

"I ran away. It brought them even more pain. And...

"I even caused my grandmother's death."

**.  
.**

**END OF CHAPTER XVI**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER XVII: The Talk**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS  
**Again, thank you so much everyone~!  
And for those who doesn't know. **CTRL+F**'ll help you find my replies. XD

**xDarkxKurox-**Thank you for the review and yay~! I'm happy I made you happy. lolololol. And I know it's completed. Main reason why I fav'ed it on the first chap, xD Looking forward to reading everything this summer. Expect my comments every chap tho. Hahaha

**o0violetphoenix0o-** And she did! In this chapter. lol. It wasn't that dramatic but oh well. Hehehehe. Thank you for the comment, by the way~! xD

**Darkspider-** Hahahaha. Yes, he did confess! xD Now it's Ryoma's turn. *cackles* And lol-unclezoned. Pffttt- And about Atobe. That was the original plan. But as I write my other fem! Ryoma story, I eventually changed it up. Hehehe. And wai-what? You're a nomad in your own country!? Fear not, my friend! The internet is home for everyone. lool. Thanks for the review~! P.S. I think it's admirable you still returned after that happened. xD If I got hacked I'd probably lose interest. T_T

**DT- **Loool. Yay for Yuko! xDD But the reason of why Ryoma wasn't telling (don't read the rest of this reply if you haven't read this chapter yet) was simply because she was scared. It shows how much she admires Seichi tho. ;) And thanks for the comment~

**Minteleafeon-** It didn't take that long. loooool. With all the skinship, Yuki was bound to find out anyway. hahaha. And banzai Sanada! May you (eventually) have your own happy ending. xD Thanks for the comment~

**Yuu-** Thank you for the review~! Ahahahaha. Glad you thought it was cute! :D

**Natasya Ivashkov-** lol. Thank you for the comment~! Glad you liked the chapter and here's the next chap~ Hope ya' liked it as well. ;)

**xXHalfPrinceXx- **Lololol. Yeah! Took him long enough! *cackles* Thanks for the comment, btw~

**DragonFire Princess- **Thank you for the review~! It has been noted and I hope to make it even better~! \0/

**kuragirl93-** Ahahahah. Thank you for the review! lol. It's awesome that you thought it was epic. xD

**xXRandomnessPrevailsXx- **Ahaha. Happy to hear the feels attacked you, then! trolololol. And oh yeah, here's the update~! This chapter (16) somewhat reveals why Ryoma didn't want to say btw~ It's not that dramatic but...yeah. Gyahaha. Thank you for the review, by the way~! ;)

**FranscoiseLaraLapis- **Yeah. T_T Sanada's so awesome. Let us hug him together. lololololol. And oh yeah~! Thank you for the review, by the way~! xD

**shanagi95-** Yep~ This chap opened the bag lol. And gehehe. I won't say anything about Ryoma keeping up her cross-dressing gig tho. I'll show you my decision on that next chap. xD Thanks for the comment~

**Yuki Masaharu- **Eh? Gehehe~ Thank you for the review! I'm happy to hear it is mindblowing and unpredictable~ I hope to keep it up til' the end. xD Do tell me if I'm losing it tho. ;)

**JuRy28-** ahaha. Niou's such the charmer, isn't he? XD Thank you for the reviews and I'm glad to read you love this~! Fuji wouldn't be appearing soon though... perhaps a few chaps. XD

**Clavemien Nigram Rosa-** Gyahaha. Ridiculously cute promise? XDDD Glad you thought they were cute as well~! Especially that it made your day. *blushes* Thank you for the review, by the way~!

**TPOK- **What are you talking about? XD Of course I remember you! I'm familiar with everyone who reviews me. Hehe. One of the reasons I reply this way. ;) First of all, thank you for the review! Ahaha. Glad you liked the story so much and I'll do my best to keep it that way. Hehe. And btw, don't dislike the sciences! There's always brainwashing yourself to liking them. gahaha

**BrokenBlackCat-** but we already did join Niou! The only lacking bit is his pocorn. *hands you a box of popcorn* Thank you for the review, btw, and hope this chap answered your... questions? XD

**Shii- **Nyahaha. Have you read this chap (ch16) yet? The girl is revealed here and I'm sure you would LOVE her. hahahahha. Thank you for the review and I'm happy I madey ou laugh. ;D

**deadlycute17-** *makes Niou wipe your nosebleed for you* gehe. Thank you for the review and I'm relieved to read you liked the chapter~! xD Hopefully, the following chaps'll be good too~

**PurpleScorpion- **lol. It is? Hehehe. Well, I hinted (very subtly tho) that he was already considering that it was impossible to push her away in chapter 15. It is why he said so many mean things. ;) And loool- Hopefully this chap made you soften up to bipolar-yuki~!xD Thanks for the review, btw~

**TunaForDesert-** What? NO! Yuki make her go back down here! hahaha. And the line you mentioned just means he's saying he's a homosexual as well. ;) Thanks for the comment~

**kikumarucat- **hahaha. Perhaps Sanada will, perhaps he won't. xD love triangles are just so complicated~! I'm still thinking how to make Sanada move in this. ;) Thanks for the review, btw~

**Guest [2/27/13]-** Ahahha. Glad to read that, then! xD Hope thestory's interestingness will not decrease. xD Thx for the review~

**DigimonLoveForever-** D'aww~. xD Thank you for the review~! And Gehhehe. I'm sure Yuki would love to hear he melted your heart. xD

**WhitewingsFlutter- **Nyahahaha. Indeed. Fell in love with him at first sight. XD Anyway, yay for Yuki~! It's weird how similar their (Fuji and Yuki)'s characters are and yet so... different. xD Thanks for the comment, btw~

**mysweetcat- **Ahahha. I wonder if we want to see the conversion. Pffft- I dunno if what I showed here is near the process. hahaha. No idea. xD Just wanted to make their lives complicated. Thx for the comment~

**JigokuTenshi834-** Ahahha. Evilgeniusawesomecliffies. With that in line, I'm so sorry this chap took so long even with the evilgeniuscliffy! :( SOmetimes school can be unstoppable. Thanks for the comment~

**ShikiKira- **lol. Sakuno? haha. This chapter'll be a pleasant surprise for you then. xD And Hehe. I'll consider your suggestion regarding Ryoga's entrance. ;) Thank you for the review!

**Guest [3/16/13]- **Once again two reviews came in with the same title. XD  
The reply to the first review that started with 'OH MY GOSH' (haha)]: I agree~! The jealousy thing is always, for a girl, entertaining when it's the guy who's jelly. Hahah. Thank you for the review, I'm glad you loved the story, and I love you too. xDDD

the second one started w/ 'OMG': AHhahaha. Oh no no. I don;t think you'd wanna kick the 'fiance' in the head after reading this chap. xDD I love you too and thanks for the review~!

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**...**

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I'll delve deeper into her past... soon. xD Not now tho. ;) Be sure to take in the 'hints'! haha

Anyway, thank you for reading and please leave some feedback! Every one of them makes me soooo happy!


	17. The talk

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

**A/N: **This was_ suppose_d to be a flashback chapter, but as I was writing it didn't feel right to let it be here. I mean **the next story arc** wouldn't be as nice if I just reveal everything here. xD

There won't be _that _many bombs; and everything Ryoma said the prev. chap and what will be revealed in this chap are all true, but, yeah… hahaha. Well, for the most part I'll just be _showing_ there what I'm telling in this chapter, only with more detail so I guess its fine.

**Anyway, Thank you so much for reading this far! Especially those who reviewed, fav'ed, subscribed, and C2d the story~! Hope you guys enjoy the chap and please don't hesitate to send me some feedback. I'm happy to read anything from you!;)**

* * *

…

* * *

**CHAPTER XVII: The Talk**

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

Later that night, Ryoma and Seichi finally went down for dinner. Silent taps echoed across the room, and soon they reached the ground floor. They walked to the dining room and found that the adults waited for them, apparently so that everyone could eat together. They silently apologized and sat down unceremoniously in adjacent seats.

Ryoma watched Seichi secretly and saw he was putting up a stronger mask of calmness than usual. Mentally, she sighed. He had been very accepting, but when she told him some more... details... about her grandmother, he definitely looked mad. She wondered if his feelings really didn't change, as he said. She didn't want to doubt him, but that seething annoyance in his eyes when she told him could really plant a seed of insecurity within her.

Soon after..., a very awkward dinner officially commenced (as initiated by Nanjiroh putting a large chunk of meat in his mouth) and the boys and Ryoma remained silent as the three women chatted with each other about trivial things to soften the tension. It didn't really help though, and eventually everyone finished with their meals.

They went to chat in the living room afterwards. Rinko stayed in the kitchen to ready them some tea and it didn't take long for her to arrive at the living room the drinks. Clanks of porcelain cups seemed like sound effects as Ryuzaki Sumire surveyed her company. And then for some reason, she started laughing just before sipping her tea.

"What the hell, you on meds old hag?"

Ryuzaki's eyes twitched just before she sent out a sadistic glare. "Of course I am. I'm old."

"Whatever."

Ryuzaki let out a disapproving sigh before smiling at everyone else (and then sipped her tea).

And then she started giggling.

"Shit."

"No cursing Nanjiroh."

"Well, it's creepy!"

"I'm just fangirling. It's for comic relief." She said indignantly and Nanjiroh's eyes twitched.

"More like making us _cringe_."

The argument continued on for a while. Ryoma watched the interactions passively while Seichi took advantage of it to further compose himself. They were pulled back to reality when Ryuzaki cackled and started babbling about how interesting the situation was. She had the shallowest idea of all these events, she claimed, until she was called in to be an 'actress'.

"I know you two." She said pointing to the Echizen couple. "...came from interesting families." She smirked. "I didn't know you had such deep connections with the Yukimuras though."

"I'm curious as to how deep." Seichi added and, after a short silence, brought a smile from his mother.

"Rinko and I have been friends since we were children. Suoh here was one of Nanjiroh's students, and he guarded _him_ for two years."

This made the other two stare in surprise, Yuko chuckled and continued. "And you could say circumstances brought our fates together."

Rinko laughed. "As sappy as always Rinko?"

"Hai." She smiled and then looked at the two kids, as if recalling something from Rinko's comment. "Want to hear something interesting?"

They didn't answer. They weren't sure they wanted to hear this. But Yuko continued anyway.

"Many women wanted as many connections with the friends as possible." She laughed and looked at nowhere in particular. "So... it was not surprising that when we had a child, (a beautiful one at that…,) the idea of an engaged marriage seemed _quite_ **exciting**."

Yuko stared at Seichi. "At first we were a bit disappointed since you turned out to be male. We kinda of planned to be-throne you to Ryoga."

Ryoma and Seichi gagged their teas.

"Anyway, soon enough—you..." Rinko, this time, was the one who was speaking, and she was looking at Ryoma. "...were born and we were all happy. But of course, we didn't want to tie you two up so early in life some for obvious reasons, some for not-so-obvious reasons, so we never really officialised it." And she paused, looking serenely at the Yukimuras. "And... after the accident, it became awkward to think of such things. So it never did."

Once again the kids remained silent. After all, bomb after bomb were getting thrown at them, and without decent pacing; they did not appreciate it at all.

"Besides..." Suoh laughed scratched his cheek, "...having someone like me, with my disabilities for a father, is already too much of a burden." and then sipped his tea. "Placing additional limits on you was not an option. Besides, I know you Seichi. You put it in yourself to be stronger than normal, didn't you?"

Seichi didn't answer. It was true.

"We just forgot about the whole engagement issue and decided to just let everyone live the way they wanted to. We wanted you to meet of course, since there was still the option of you two choosing each other for yourself." It was then that they heard a clank and looked at it. It was Seichi, and he just placed his tea cup on the vitreous table.

"I still didn't see why we had to go through so much first." He said seriously. He meant making Ryoma cross-dress, guard him, and make him so confused for years. Nanjiroh rubbed his ears rudely, making him frown.

"Well you overcame it didn't you? Why are you complaining?"

"Well, I—"

"Seichi..." Someone cut him off.

It was his mother. Seichi looked at her as he waited but his mother shifted her gaze to his father, who only nodded. Yuko cleared her throat before looking back at Seichi.

"We never told you this but..." She looked at her palm. "Suoh and I were engaged by our parents as well."

There was a pregnant pause after that and, this time, it was Seichi cleared who his throat. "And…?"

"Well, things were far from smooth." Yuko replied, and there was something in her eyes that softened up considerably at images that was running through her mind. "What made things harder for us was that we both had our respective lovers at the time."

_"What?" _The two children exclaimed simultaneously and gaped. Even Ryuzaki looked like she was watching a tear-jerking soap opera. Yuko smiled awkwardly and Suoh scratched his cheek.

"Mou don't look at us like that. We broke it off with them peacefully. They were living their own lives with their own families."

That wasn't the point. Ryoma for one was uncomfortable. What if they actually found someone to engage Seichi with and not her? Would Seichi have broken it off with her, as well?

"You can only imagine how hard it was for us to even attempt to show some affection." Yuko said. "It took us a while to finally realize we were in-love for quite some time after all.

"We wanted you two to realize and admit your feelings without having the mindset of 'I have to'."

_Doki_

They blushed madly and turned away to keep themselves from exploding. At this point everything already made sense for them. But obviously, they didn't foresee that it would be _that _difficult for them.

"Things got even more complicated when Ryoga ran away."

"We all knew he wasn't the type to be tied down...," Rinko said, sighing, as if reading their thoughts. "...let alone do any tradition against his will.

This time they heard a small thump and apparently it was made by Nanjiroh savagely crossing his feet and hitting the table in the process. "Ouch!" He 'tsked' and kicked the table. Fortunately, everyone foresaw this and were already holding their cups.

"But tradition is tradition and your… grandmother… was strict about that." He paused and sat back down. "Seems like she and the Yuro Yukimura had an oath of sorts she'd rather die for if she didn't follow."

"Eh? This is the first time I heard of this." He paused. "Reina?"

"Of course I heard of this before, anyone cursed with the duty ought to be curious about it."

Seichi raised an elegant brow. "Cursed?"

"Not in the offending sense." She said, flinching. "Aniki certainly thought so, I guess."

"Ryoga said something about it being useless and meaningless before. He was not born to serve anybody."

"But wasn't it only for two years?"

"Two years is a long time for a teenage boy." Yuko winked.

"In any case, _everyone _(especially my baby)…was devastated when he left." He shook his head and Ryoma wanted to punch him. "Six years passed by quickly and there was still no sign of Ryoga—that brat."

"The situation got worse and worse—we found out _you_ had the Gullian Barre Syndrome."

Seichi frowned at Rinko. "Well, I apologize for catching a lethal disease."

"We didn't mean it that way—mou. Anyway…," RInko sighed. "It certainly didn't help anyone's psyche, especially since your grandfather Yuro died of that disease."

Nanjiroh nodded. "Mother loved Yuro like her own brother and there was also the fact she probably remained contact with his house. We feared she may have heard of your disease... so we decided to visit her." Nanjiroh looked at the ceiling and sighed heavily.

"And guessing by the yells upstairs earlier on, I assume you know the rest."

Seichi's eyes twitched before he nodded calmly.

"Anyway, we should go to bed now, the kids have to go early to school tomorrow." Rinko clapped her hand to end the conversation before it turned even more suffocating. "You folks want to stay in for the night?"

Ryuuzaki shook her head. "No can do, my granddaughter's alone at home I won't be able to sleep."

"Ok." Rinko nodded."That means Nanjiroh has to go home to Tokyo too."

Nanjiroh winced. "Eh? **Why**?"

"Because you have to accompany Ryuzaki-san!"

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do baka-Nanjiroh!"

"No I don't! _**And **_who will watch over those two!?" He looked at them with abhorrence obvious in his eyes. "Who knows what they might do!?"

"W-We don't need your supervision thank you very much." Ryoma intervened.

"Look at your fiancé then!"

She turned to Seichi—who was red as an apple. Her eyes twitched and she pushed down her growing blush. "It's because you said something embarrassing. Go home Oyaji."

And before Nanjiroh could utter anything else, Ryuzaki's hand sneaked its way to his collar and he was dragged away. Rinko assisted by literally pushing him out.

"N-No!" Nanjiroh yelled fighting for freedom—which was definitely futile. Nanjiroh needed to throw his last words. "You two don't you dare do anything suspic—"

_Thump_

And the door was closed.

* * *

"We'd be in the master's room across the hall, kids, okay?" The couple said after saying goodnight to Rinko to the two kids who was quite a bit of doors away from their rooms. "Don't do anything weird okay?"

And once again they blushed. But politely dismissed the idea. Soon, they parted ways and the corridor to their rooms they were already alone. Ryoma blinked as Seichi continued walking beyond his door. A few meters and they were in front of _her_ door.

"Seichi?"

He was silent and was looking down. "I want to be the one to see you off to your room this time." He said without looking, his long hair basically hiding his pale face, and Ryoma could only stare. When she finally absorbed what he said, she smiled.

"Thanks." Was all she said before finally gesturing to open the door. There was a small creak, and for that instant it, along with the graceful swing of the door, took her attention. She turned to his direction, only at random, and Seichi caught her by surprise, again, when he placed a soft chaste kiss on her mouth.

"This... is alright, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"It sounded like we're not even allowed to kiss…"

She chuckled with a beautiful hint of pink on her cheeks. "I don't think so." She looked away. "I just think it's the M-rated stuff." Before stealing a glance.

He was pale… and then he turned red again.

"Oi, Oi."

Seichi cleared his throat as if something was blocking it. "This is a very awkward conversation. Can we change the topic?"

She smiled and nodded, before he leaned down again, albeit this time with more reluctance and awkwardness than before. She closed her eyes and savoured their intimacy and in the process recalled how they were just the previous night. They were fighting and confused, (heck she was still a bit confused) and now they were kissing.

"Well, our relationship escalated quickly didn't it?" She said when they parted. Seichi chuckled and nodded in agreement, before leaning down once more to place a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Our relationship entered what we call a… punctuated equilibrium."

Ryoma raised a half-amused brow. "Genetics?"

"Yeah." Seichi smiled widely. "It was bound to happen."

_Bound to_ happen

"Ne, Seichi." She said and Seichi flinched at the sudden change in her expression.

"If you really got engaged... I mean, your parents asked you to marry another girl. Do you think you'd eventually... break like they did?"

"Are you doubting my words?"

She stared at him and looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry. But after hearing their stories... I didn't think it was... impossible anymore." She paused and looked at his pain-stricken eyes guiltily. "I'm sorry for doubting you..., but please understand."

Seichi's expression turned a little sour and he closed his eyes before leaning down and letting his head rest on her shoulders, as if hiding his face. "I don't think I have the right to demand your full trust right now."

He embraced her tighter and she blushed at the feel of his breath on her shoulder. "I will have to prove myself." he said firmly before lifting up his head, as if finding some new energy or something. Ryoma could only stare.

Mentally she asked him what he was planning to do.

And, as if hearing her thoughts, he leaned closer before closing his eyes and managing to step back. "I'll start by controlling my impulses."

Somehow Ryoma didn't like the sound of that. And apparently? It showed.

Seichi chuckled. "Disappointed, are we?"

She blushed and sighed. "Che."

He smiled and kissed her cheek. (He couldn't help it but it should be fine, right?) "Well, good night Reina." She nodded and opened her door again.

"Good night."

* * *

/_The Next Day/_

_Sip_

Blue orbs stared into the horizon and watched as once again, as it did for millions of years, the sun as it metaphorically awoke from its slumber. He closed his eyes and let the air's exceptionally fresh feel dominate his senses..., the pleasantly cool breeze envelop his skin.

_Sip_

The perfect time to have tea outside, that was, indeed.

"Beautiful view, we have here my beautiful son." Suoh said as he sipped his drink, pulling him out of his reverie. Seichi was having his morning tea when his father seemed to have woken earlier than expected and decided to join him.

They were currently in the Eastern balcony. Interestingly, it was the balcony adjacent to Ryoma's room. The arrangement was originally for his security..., that if by some small chance an intruder managed to come in, Ryoma would be at least notified quicker. She was a bodyguard after all. Back then, Seichi obviously didn't like the idea but there was no reason to say anything—especially since the house was, generally, safe.

And nnow… her room placement caused Seichi nothing but discomfort. The girl's security was now also a consideration, security from intruders that was.

But when he thought about it... was he also thinking of protecting Ryoma from _himself_?

He shook his head of the thoughts, he had no… doubts… he'd be able to control himself effortlessly. Okay, perhaps not effortlessly but he would manage. What had he been doing after all these years after all? Plus, he kind of promised her he'd control his hormones. So there was no need to worry about that.

Right...?

But then.., right on cue, they started hearing some arguments inside Ryoma's room, so loud that he and his father could hear many of their words. Something about _'What are you thinking woman?'_ _'Well what do you plan to do?' 'But, I—'_ The usual arguments those two had, really, nothing too extreme but very loud.

Seichi almost stood up to check, but paused. _'What if she was dressing up or something? It would be awfully rude…'_

But then again…

"You need not go there Seichi." His father intervened his line of thought. He was wearing a sly, knowing, smile he usually only saw when he was on the verge of convincing someone to a large business deal.

"O-Of course." He said, and went back to sitting properly. Soon, Rinko went out of the room with a relieved sigh, looking as if she'd won the argument. She walked to the two boys. "Mah, I'll go back down to help Yuko with the breakfast. Seichi, do check up on Reina from time to time."

"Hai?"

"You heard the woman, Seichi." Seichi blinked but shrugged it off in the end.

"Ah." he said, before finally standing up and gestured to knock on her door.

_Knock Knock_

"Reina? It's me." He said coolly, albeit he was a bit nervous. He heard a weak 'come in' and he got a lot more worried, she seemed bothered by something. But as he entered, he found himself looking around. It had been a long, long, while since he had last been here.

"Reina? Where are you?"

"Here…" came another weak reply and it came from her walk-in closet, which the last time he went there was basically empty. The moment he got nearer, his steps froze. She was, really, nonchalantly just standing there with her back against a cabinet. But... her frown was _deep_.

And he could so easily see why. And yet "W-What are you wearing?" was all he could utter.

No, he was not blind, nor was she in an exotic attire. She was wearing the school uniform—the one for _girls,_ but he found himself looking rather startled anyway. He was not going to lie by saying it didn't look good on her—which by all means, it _did-_ beyond expectations, in fact but he was not about to say anything embarrassing either.

Or rather, he couldn't.

His throat was dry. No, disintegrating.

"Mother made me wear it," she muttered bitterly and stood up straight and walked a meter from where she stood. Frankly, it was only for a second but it went on in a disconcerting slow motion in his eyes. Her walk, suddenly very feminine (maybe it didn't change his brain just refused to acknowledge it before), her long hair flowing gracefully (this was the first time he saw them, and now he was fighting the urge to touch it for a day), and, well..., everything else.

But perhaps more importantly- that skirt… was _much_ too **short**!

But she pulled him out of his trance by opening her cabinet. "Look." She said, revealing cabinets that were opposite from when they were before: Filled. And with feminine clothes.

He did want to see them all on her, but… clothes were for _everyone_ to see. So…, **no**.

"I don't like it. I don't like them. Where're your old uniforms anyway?" He said, realizing later that it came out rudely.

"I don't either." She said, narrowing her eyes, and went close to him. "But that was a very rude way to say it. I don't like them because I can't move freely with them on, shorts or no shorts. What about you?"

He stared, pushed his blush down, and adopted a very serious face. Somehow… he was not ready to say anything utterly embarrassing and/or anything that would make his self-control look weak. So he shall lie. He started to wonder when he would be able to be frank with her, like with everybody else.

"It doesn't suit you because you don't like it."

"So if I brainwash myself to like it, you will too?"

"Where are we going with this?"

"I'm suspicious." Reina nodded honestly. "That maybe… you are gay after all. Since you want me in boy's clothes and all..."

"What?"

"Well, you suddenly become way more awkward and look away."

"No, I am not gay."

Reina raised a brow."Bi?"

Seichi sighed. "Come," he said and extended his arm, which Reina nervously took, and he gently pulled her so that they were only an inch apart. She slightly looked away.

"Are _you_ gay?"

"Okay, I get the point."

"That's right. That's what you feel sometimes when you feel like this. It becomes more comfortable eventually, but obviously we're not lovers that long yet."

"Hmn… so why _don't_ you like me wearing these?"

"Why the sudden care, Reina?"

"Because…"

"Well..?"

"Mum said you would."

"Oh."

And he did.

"Well?" He didn't realize he was turning away. "Seichi." She called again, and placed her warm hands on his burning cheeks so that he were to face her. "Look at me."

"Why did she think so, then…?" She blushed but didn't answer. Seichi stared. "Well?"

"Darn you. Stop dragging this into circles."

"I'll... only answer if you answer first."

"What are you, five?"

Seichi frowned. Actually it was close to a pout. "Just answer, Reina."

She stared at his serious face and looked away. But she toughened it out anyway and said something very embarrassing. To both of them "She said you would like seeing me in this because you liked me."

_Silence_

"I don't like you." He said and she stared at him. "I think we have already established my feelings are much deeper than that, no?" He leaned down, right next to her ears. It was originally just to hide his face, but he found he liked the position. He turned and kissed her ear, she let out a very enticing little huff that would haunt him for a while.

"Aishiteru." He said, and although embarrassing it was the truth, apparently for years now. It was a good feeling to finally let it out. "…and I don't want anyone else seeing you this beautiful. Is it that hard to realize on your own?"

She blushed and looked straight to his eyes, as soon as she could see them. "Gomen Nasai."

"Good." He smiled. "So… if it's not too much discomfort to wear men's clothes again… mind continuing cross-dressing for me?"

"I suppose so. I guess I have been used to it—"

"You could refuse, you know."

"N'aw. Everyone demanding for explanations is too troublesome. But... I want to tell the regulars anyway, at least by word."

His eyes widened slight. He was startled. "You'll tell them?"

"Seichi..." She whispered, looking at him intently. His eyes widened further. "I know you feel comfortable, at home in fact, with them as I do. I don't want to hurt them by lying for long, not like this."

What could he say? He didn't want anyone to know—especially _him_.

But then again… he _did_ say he was gay, correct? He paused his musings. _Perhaps this is a good thing, _he thought, and nodded. "I suppose you're right. But expect surprised reactions though and some good explanations."

"I will. Help me?"

"Of course."

"Thanks."

But when she thought she was finally free, Seichi didn't let her go. Heck, he was staring rather intently. Now that he was somewhat calm enough, he thought that… perhaps… he should open up the issue that had been bothering him, albeit never found the moment to point out. Asking about it the previous night was bad taste as well.

That '_date'_.

And just a second of thought made his whole body feel uncomfortable heavy.

"Since we're being honest here... isn't there anything _else_ you want to tell me?"

"Hmn?"

"..."

"..."

"Yesterday." he huffed. "You were in date weren't you?"

And once again there was silence. Ryoma paled and Seichi found himself narrowing his eyes. She _forgot_ all about it didn't she? How was that even possible? But then again... with Ryoma, perhaps it was. Hence, at the moment Seichi was both relieved and disconcerted. Relieved that it wasn't important enough to remember, disconcerted because she looked so… uncharacteristically pale.

In the end, he was very disconcerted after all.

And it showed. "How much of that was true." He asked, trying his best not to let his voice crack.

"Depends on what you think you know." She replied gently, obviously trying of other words to say.

"Your mother said you went out on a date and was all dresse—"He paused at a realization. "Dressed up as _what_ exactly."

She gulped again and a part of him regretted he asked—he knew for a fact that he was being terrifying. He didn't want to scare her, nor did he have a right to be so possessive of the Ryoma that wasn't even his before. So he let out a deep, _deep_, breath and held her shoulders. Firmly but gently.

"You _will_ tell me, right?"

"I will." She said immediately. The question then on her mind was… _how_?

She looked once more at her fiance's eyes and she could tell he was trying hard to contain himself—but he was barely succeeding.

She gulped, but mentally she was staring at both of them in disapproval. This was not the way to be, this type of pace- it didn't feel right. She had to fix this.

But she... was not gifted with articulating herself—everything might come out wrong. She was only good at expressing herself when it came to tennis... and daunting people.

And then it hit her.

"Tell me." Seichi said interrupting her line-of-thought. This time it was more of an order and she frowned. She closed her eyes and stared him down.

"Not yet."

"What?"

Ryoma sighed. '_Just say it.'_ She said to herself.

_Play a game with me_

.  
.

**END OF CHAPTER XVII**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER XVIII: Tennis**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS**

**DragonFire Princess- **Yeah. I don't think it will be as dramatic as most of you might expect it to be tho. xD Thanks for the review!

**SetsunaKihei- (ch1) **I am glad that you love this story! I sure do hope to keep it up! Ahaha. Thanks for the review, btw~

**Mintleafeon- **Ehehe. That last part. xD Demo… I don't think it'll be as dramatic as most of you thought. I'll try to make it good but yea. Hahhaha. Thanks for the comment!

**EV3RL4STING SER3N4DE- **Ahehehe. You're so funny with your cyber gibberish and thank you for the review. xD And hai~ Hope it doesn't become as dramatic as my other stories tho. xD Thanks for the review~

**xXRandomnessPrevailsXx- **It was? xD I'm glad you liked the dramaticness then. Ahaha. And you can have a heart attack. I'd just ask Sanada to take care of you lol. Anyway, Thank you for the review and don't hesitate to leave long ones. xD C'mon I love reading reviews, that means I like long ones very much! xD

**PurpleScorpion- **It's your fav. Chap so far? You softened up to Yuki? Banzai! Time to celebrate~ hhahha. And oh my—I hope I updated the stories on time! In any case, thanks for the review and have a fun summer. ^^

**TunaForDesert- **Now I'm remembering our FB conversation lol. But noo, this is not going to end yet! xD And lolololol. Way to characterize Seichi-the-sexy bastard. XD Thanks for the comment~

**Yuki Masaharu- **Did you faint? xD Shall I make Niou perform CPR on you? Ahaha. I'm glad you liked it and thank you for the review~

**o0Violetphoenix0o- **ahahaha. You wanted to pull out your hair? xD I hope it won't happen in the future! Lool. I'm so happy you liked the chapter and thank you for the review! xD

**FranscoiseLaraLapis**- Yay for their togetherness haha. I'm glad I keep getting you excited and I hope to keep it up lol. Thanks for the review and I'm sure Seichi would blush if he hears that. Ahaha

**xDarkxKurokox- **He meant the turning Ryoma to a homo. lool Weird Seichi, weird. Hahaha. What does Omaera mean tho? Dr. Google doesn't know. xDDD And thanks for the review! Hahaha

**ChocoMickey- **Hahaha. Poor ignorant Seichi. xD And so sorry for the long update! My summer vacation starts now so I hope it gets better. Thanks for the comment~

**Yuu- **Ahahha. Not yet, but eventually you will hear those bells. Haahha. Not sure when tho. xD Thanks for the comment~!

**FudoYuki- **I understand. School gets in the way of everything. Ahhahah. Unfortunately, I cannot show the full story atm. Gomen. Anyway, glad to see you back and thanks for the comment!

**Clavemien Nigram Rosa- ***floats with you on the happy clouds* Hahahaha. And thank you for waiting, reviewing, and hope this was worth the wait~!

**JuRy28**- Thank you for reviewing and waiting~! I'm glad you liked it and I'll be sure to keep it up! xDDD

**BrokenBlackCat**- Hahaha. I'm glad that you liked the chapter and I apologize for that bomb in the end. xD It'll remain dormant for a while though, gomen, and thanks for the review~

**Deadlycute17- **Yay~xD Glad you liked it and found Sei adorable~ Thank you for reviewing and lololol please continue being my awesome supporter friend. Hahaha

**xXHalfPrinceXx- **hehehe. Yeah. xD They're finally together! We should party. Loool. The grandma thing's gonna be a secret for a while tho. Thank you for the comment, btw~ ;DD

**shanagi95- **Glad to read that it was not disappointing nor was it too dramatic. xD Sanada's trying to help. XD I just didn't think he's the type to jump in the confusion. At least I dunno how to write it if he did. Haha. Thanks for the review~

**Guest [3/11/13] x 2- **Once again, two guests have the same name. hahaha. C'mon now. Can you at least tell me your n-names so I can properly address you? xD It's weird to say 'x2' gahahaha. Anyway, my replies. xD** (1)**Starts with 'Pink hair' - *hugs* hahah. Glad you thought they were cute! xD And stalker- Seichi? That I want to see. Lol. And pfft—all of our families think of us as weird. Imagine me as I write those fluff scenes. They must think I'm playing some eroge game or something. Thanks for the review~  
**(2) **Starts with 'Oh My God'- haha. Man, replying this way sounds so weird! xDD C'mon tell me your name!hahah. And wait—you two guest commentators want a jelly-Seichi over Atobe? xD That'll happen but not quite soon. *wink* And Thanks for the review~

**Natasya Ivashkov- **hahaha. We all love the part where they kiss. You're not alone. xD Together perverts…! *cheers* lololol. Thanks for the comment~

**Animelover4ever69**- Yes, yes it will. xD But she already told them tho…, only we don't know the whole truth yet. Hahaha. Thanks for the comment!

**DigimonLoveForever- **Hahah. Yay~ They're together indeed! And I won't show the whole story in this chap but some of the gist are in. xD Thanks for the comment~

**TPOK- **Hahahaha. I dunno. When I was writing I couldn't imagine anyone else playing the fiancé. xD I'm insane that way. Hahahahha. And that question shall be answered eventually. xD Gomen, gomen. And finally, Thanks for the review~

**Darkspider- **Problems eh? Haha. Who knows what they are. *cackles* And yeah, poor Sanada. Let us hug him together. (gosh that sounded weird). And wahaha—don't remind me of that beach episode. That was too funny and it made me cringe at the same time. And wait! OP is back now! The arc's friggin awesome. And finally, it's good you came back! *hugs* and thanks for the review~

**Fuyutsuki Hikari**- I am sooo sorry to keep you waiting! T_T School killed me. Hope this was worth the wait though and thanks for the comment! :D

**Lunacil- (ch13)***cackles like hell* I'm glad to read that! Hahahhaha. Not a lot of humor parts from here on in but I'll try to make you laugh again. xD Thanks for the comment~!

**JigokuTenshi834- **Evil cliffies banzai! Haha. Unfortunately, that part would be left in the dark for a while. Gomen nasai. xDD Glad you liked the chapter as well! ;D And Thanks for the review! xD

**ChordOverstreetFan**- Ah no no. The site just had a new feature for 4 charas and I tried it out. I didn't know it automatically alphabetized it. Gomen for the confusion.

**Zwolftd- **Yep yep~ Some will be kept hidden though. Gaheheheh. There wasn't much that happened here though, mostly literally just talking. xD AndThanks for the comment~

**Ciel D' or Serendipte- **Out of curiosity… what's with the name change? XD I like the sound of this… assuming I pronounced it properly. Hahaha. And it's fine! I'm glad I got to hear from you. Hehe. Thanks for the review!

**MysticBlood**- lol you need more fluff?! xDD Wait let me hype up my fluffiness. Hahaha. And about Sanada… well I hope to give him a happy ending. ;) Finally, thanks for the comment~

**Guest [3/8/13**]- I missed you guys too! So sorry for not updating for so long and I can only hope this chap was worth it. Thanks for the comment!

* * *

…

* * *

Thank you for reading! I would love love _love_ to read your thoughts! xD

Btw, I'm working on a fem!Ryoma-in-Rikkai-High-Female-Uniform as some of you may already know. Hehe. I'll post it on my DA account on or before the next instalment of this story. haha


	18. Tennis

**Thank you so much for reading! **Special hugs to those who reviewed, faved, and subscribed as well as C2d. I already posted the drawing 2 weeks ago. If you wanna check it out just type **'Nispedana female Ryoma Rikkai high'**. xD

**AD: **I'm a virus if you don't already know. XD I have a Deviantart account, facebook account, facebook page, PoT forum, etc etc. All of them are linked in my profile so feel free to visit them esp. my spam page. The forum feels lonely too. xD

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**…**

* * *

** CHAPTER XVIII: Tennis**

It was either be blunt or not to speak at all. That was Ryoma.

Actually having to choose the right words—was something she was not gifted at. It was the reason why she was good in grammar, yet she sucked in literature. It was why she was so rudely blunt, especially in tennis—something she'd rather not try going around the bush with.

It was the same with Seichi. Not speaking was not an option, but the other was not a good one either. It wasn't that she didn't trust him… it was just that too much happened that everything felt so… _fragile._

They had a long way to go. But they'll manage…

And she knew, finally playing with each other—in a game close to their hearts—was a way to start.

**…**

Yukimura Seichi stared at his fiancé. Frankly, he thought that they already had this silent, highly unspoken, agreement not to lie anymore… considering all the deceit they had done to each other and to themselves. And although she wasn't _exactly_ lying, at least not yet, it was altogether driving him insane.

"Well…?" He repeated, but this time much firmer. He didn't realize she was stepping back and he was following her. He was thankful to the wall for once again assisting him at keeping his lovely, but still a little stressful, fiancé at bay.

She turned pale and he felt guilty. He did not plan to back down though, but he still wanted the color back to her face. It disconcerted him that she looked so scared. He calmed his heart before leaning down and kissed the side of her face, right next to her ear, just before whispering: 'Tell me'.

He parted to see her eyes again and, indeed, the pale color was replaced by a beautiful shade of red. He felt he might as well be even redder. He felt her hands climbing to his shoulders, but it gently pushed him away. He stared.

"We'll talk about it… after I get changed in boy's clothes. I t-think I still have a few sets hidden." Seichi raised a brow at her, to shifting to the choice he wanted her to take before in an attempt to change the topic. But then he realized _why_ exactly she wanted a change of clothes.

His hand—it was slithering on her legs, straying just before the hem of her skirt.

He felt bursting in both embarrassment and everything else really. "Gomen." He said, quickly lifting his hand up and almost gestured to step back when—

"I can't… breath." She said, which was odd at first glance since he was no longer making any skinship with her. The closest he was was his left hand, supporting his weight against the wall and keeping his distance from her. And of course his face, which was an inch away from hers.

But then he realized what she meant…, because _he_ couldn't breathe either. Perhaps being at this proximity always would. But instead of reflexively stepping back, he stayed there and watched the growing blush on her face. "Seichi…" She whispered. He thought it was utterly beautiful. He wanted to kiss her to oblivion, but he didn't. He knew his heart would probably stop for good.

So, he only smiled, keeping his position stable—teasing—even as she continued to try pushing him away. She was strong, but she had weakened considerably. "Step back please…"

"I will when you tell me."

She managed to let out a characteristic scoff at that, despite struggling for air. "Says the man who backed out on a tennis match."

"…" _What did that have to do with it? _She took it as an advantage to finally escape and she was a safe meter away from him. Seichi shook his head, of course.

"So you're giving out a condition before telling your _fiancé_ the truth?"

"Because…" She frowned. "Just play with me."

"Whay if I say I won't?"

"Are you scared I'd beat you?"

"You said it yourself—I'm stronger now."

"Not necessarily stronger than _me_." Seichi could only stare at her. She got her full composure now and was emitting that pompous aura that could make any man who wanted to run swim in shame. "I'll tell you if you have a match with me."

Seichi knew a lost cause when he saw one… now that he wasn't denying anything anymore. So he sighed in defeat.

"Fine."

* * *

RIKKAI HIGH

"TARONDORU!"

Sanada watched over the players and ensured they weren't horsing around. Yukimura was late again, and he knew it probably wasn't about their parents. It wasn't like them to be late so often…

He ignored the twitch in his chest. It wasn't easy to…what? Let go? Perhaps. Every time he thought of those two finally understanding each other, he felt an odd mix of annoyance, anger, pain, and… relief.

He couldn't even bear seeing them hold hands.

It was then he heard respectful yells to his right. "BUCHOU!" The freshmen said and bowed. Echizen, she was right beside him, yet walking a good distance.

There was a dark, heavy, aura about them and it made Sanada frown deeply; _Those two better __**not**__ be fighting_.

**…**

_CLANK_

Sanada held the fence that in his view was right behind her back. Unconsciously, he felt like touching her. But in the end, he was frowning deeply in anxiety. He did not put himself through that only for them to fight again.

It was only several minutes prior when they arrived, and after blankly nodding at the greetings they got ready and to their surprise, they headed straight to a free court. Everyone watched and tried to absorb everything and soon the parameters of the court were full of spectators.

She was then picking up her racket and she stood up, with the same serious expression on her face as she had when she got to school. She felt his stare and their eyes met.

"What happened?" he mouthed and to his surprise, a small and abrupt smile crept up her face—almost reassuring.

"Don't worry, Sanada. We're just having a bet, nothing… serious." She said quietly, to the point he was certain only he could understand. She stepped closer and nodded. "We wouldn't have been able to move so much without your help."

And she stepped back.

"Thank you. You're a good friend."

And frankly, Sanada was not sure if he was ecstatic or in pain.

Perhaps it was both.

…

The two halves of the undefeated doubles pair walked side-by-side as they headed towards the court. They were asked to get some items from the storage area by Sanada since Echizen, who was the one assigned to the task, was still unavailable.

Frankly, Yanagi didn't think Sanada could be so lax. Lax in the sense that he didn't look as annoyed or as begrudging as he probably would. After all, Sanada was a very serious team player.

In any case, the bespectacled golf player stared at his partner who was holding a whole box of their new score cards. He had a very _large_ swell on his cheek and Yanagi was still deciding whether or not he would ask. After all, the trickster would probably lie and try and bring him about in circles.

"You got into a fight?"

"Yeah."

"Oh?" He asked, almost believing him. But Niou knew as an athlete he should not be involved in such fights. "Are you sure?" Yanagi voiced out, giving the hint he'd tell Sanada.

But to his surprise, Niou scoffed… in self _pity_. "Tell him and you could say my beautiful face goodbye forever."

"You got into a fight with another team?"

"Who knows…" the trickster shrugged and watched as two students passed by them in a scurry. Yanagi lifted his glasses with his free hand. Soon, they arrived at the courts. It was relatively empty and they just placed the items somewhere where it was not an obstacle. "I wonder what's happening…"

His attention was caught by his double partner grinning. "Yagyuu… where's the camera I asked for?"

"In my bag." He said, staring. "What's it for?"

Niou though, didn't answer the question, and just extended his hand until the camera was there. "You'll know soon."

And he did… a second later, courtesy of a sprinting-then-falling-idiotically-Kirihara-Akaya. "Senpai! Hurry! Buchou and Chibi-Gaki are going to have a match!"

Yagyuu stared questioningly at Niou, who only opened the camera and grinned.

"I know everything."

…

"Rough or smooth?"

"Smooth." Yukimura said, with that serious expression still on his face. He was fighting the urge to claim her in front of everyone, _especially_ Sanada—even when he probably already knew of their relationship. But he didn't do anything. He was a Yukimura after all, they had a lot more composure than that.

_CLACK_

Smooth

"You serve." He said, and Ryoma only nodded before stepping to the back. Ryoma used her left hand immediately, of course, and she gracefully dribbled the ball.

And just like that, the tension they had been keeping inside of them—in preparation for this long-awaited match of theirs—was released, like an explosion.

And their game began.

…

The whole court, despite being packed, was silent. Other than the sound of bouncing balls and their hard contact with rackets, nothing else dominated the air. Yanagi was the umpire, and even _he_ looked especially serious.

_**PAK**_

_**PAK**_

**PAK**

Half an hour had already passed since they started, and a game hadn't even finished yet. It was a heavy game, but it was not like they didn't expect it from two very serious individuals.

But to Sanada, it… was beyond that. These were two people with deep feelings for each other. This game was heavy not because they had serious personalities. It was heavy because it held such meaning for them that even people who didn't know them personally could feel it.

Sanada followed the ball, every hit a pounce to his chest, and yet he couldn't feel tired of it. He was not a masochist, but he never felt this way before—and despite it being painful, these feelings were something he would treasure.

_BAM!_

And with a smash, Yukimura took a game.

Yukimura's service game came next, and like Echizen, the only special move they let out were their serves. But…

_PAK!_

.

"…f-fifteen-Love…!"

He never saw this type of serve before, and it was the same with everyone else. It was like his invisible serve—only _soundless , _and utterly tremendous. Perhaps he was exaggerating, but he swore a wave of air just went past him, emanating from Yukimura.

_PAK!_

"Thirty-love!"

_BAM!_

"Forty-LOVE!"

_**PAK!**_

"GAME! Yukimura!"

After Yanagi's announcement, he felt like breathing as much air as he could. Blankly, he watched the two players pass by each other as they exchanged courts. They were still serious, but they were starting to sweat. Their eyes met, but other than that no contact was made.

Echizen's second service game started, and once again Yukimura effortlessly returned her serves.

And yet another, mentally-exhausting game started. This time, it was going to be shorter, the two _had_ after all let out a large amount of energy at the first three games. They were sweating buckets already, and heaving air.

They were trying to tire each other out though and both were targeting spots that would make the other run. It was then Yukimura finally hit a volley, and Echizen caught it in time—hitting the net. Yukimura sprinted to the net but…

It slid across the net and with a _flop_ it landed right on the lining of the court _opposite_ of the side where it was supposed to land.

"My tight rope walking technique…" he heard Marui whisper behind him, and Yanagi, quickly composing himself, announced the score.

"Game, Echizen! One game to Two!"

…

Yukimura Seichi huffed and watched the ball go to him and used his whole body to give him a point. The games after that level-upped tight-rope were equally impressive, despite them showing hints of fatigue. And apparently, being female didn't necessarily mean one had lower stamina. Ryoma, after losing two points from his serve, finally got used to it and ended up winning the game _primarily_ due to stamina.

The next game was… perhaps, in lay terms, light. To most it was a light exchange to regain some energy, but perhaps it wasn't just that. Maybe they wanted to have a light rally and just have a game with each other, feeling each other's presences.

But then, she won that game, and that meant she was leading. Pride or not, he was _not_ going to lose. He'd make her tell him every inch of her secrets—he would know all of her, all that she hid, and… ideally know more than anyone else about her.

He didn't realize that at that moment, that was his primary motivation. For he was always in it to win it—never to lose; for the sake of his pride, albeit now… his pride included something uncontrollable, something within an unpredictable person he deeply cared for.

He, Yukimura Seichi, was going to win this game, no matter what.

**…**

_Thump!_

Sanada's heart skipped a beat the instant she lost her balance going after the ball. Yukimura visibly tried to harden himself up (it didn't seem to be working), and Echizen definitely emitted an aura that no one was to worry about her. Ever.

Ryoma cleaned herself up and went back to an alert position as if she didn't have a large scratch on her skin, with her flesh barely holding on the gushing blood. A few more push and it would bleed.

It was then that Sanada caught her glaring Yukimura down. Not because he was suddenly winning by using consecutive techniques that could push anyone to the verge of insanity, rather it was because he _faltered_. She was _not_ going to have him soften up just because of this little incident—that was for certain. And she made that clear.

So, Yukimura put his feet back to the ground and hardened himself up and after hitting the shot the pace returned to but there was a slight difference—Yukimura was winning. It was really sudden, his sudden use of impossible techniques. Techniques that surpassed Fuji Syusuke's in complexity. Every single shot, different techniques, and it went on for three games.

And in what felt like a blink of an eye—they reached the final game. It was then, after the sun came out of the clouds, did they realize the time. But… as he looked around and saw their classmates… along with the _professors_. Mentally, he sighed in relief—they wouldn't have to be making excuse letters for being absent after all; the class went to the court.

_PAK!_

Sanada was pulled back to the game when a finishing ball ended at a court.

"30-15!" Yanagi announced. Echizen finally got a point. Sanada and everyone else gulped as the ball was, once again, gracefully served. But primarily, they continued to watch in awe as Echizen continued to give it her all, despite never once looking desperate in the process. Yukimura understood her firmness and didn't falter under her stare.

Every single move, full of feelings and strength, every single bead of work she emitted was—unconsciously or not—admired and awed by everyone.

Sanada smiled.

Echizen Ryoma was a truly beautiful woman.

…

"ECHIZEN RYOMA. Seven games to six!"

And there were no cheers, only claps, as everyone's energy had been pulled out—in an oddly positive way—and a few sensitive people even _cried_. If Sanada had more tear glands, perhaps he might have shed some tears as well.

Yukimura, after letting out a large satisfied huff, looked directly at his fiancé. She was letting out deep breaths as well and was then gesturing to walk to the center of the court. Yukimura didn't feel his legs anymore but frankly, he never felt so energized in his entire life.

He realized the game, unconsciously or not, was in many ways like their relationship. It was ironic, and he was sure it was practically a coincidence.

Their game, like their relationship, started out serious and heavy. But after getting hang of each other it became lighter somehow, but then she started winning over his being and he went on a defensive stance that attacked the most sensitive of places.

But she continued to pursue, no matter how hard he got, and she never faltered nor did she gave up. A tedious battle commenced, both tiresome, but at the same time… ecstatic.

It started out with him wanting badly to win against her—wanted so much more than he ever would have anticipated and ended up with just wanting to exchange shots with her. He watched Ryoma for a while, and letting himself… out, he realized this game was fun in a different way than usual.

It didn't matter who won; what mattered was that they went through the game together.

Oh, how sappy he had become.

"Good game." She said, nonchalantly stretching her hand for a handshake. Yukimura though, could see the beautiful glimmer in her eyes.

"Ah."

His eyes ended up on the beads of sweat that ran along her soft face…, and down to her neck. His hand moved on its own and he manually tried to wipe the beads of perspiration off her skin, she stared at him, and he could feel everyone else do the same.

And when his hand ended up on her cheek, he wiped to her head and to her hair, combing it in the process. His palm rest on the back of her head and still she stared, but her gaze softened.

And just like that—something snapped—and he didn't realize he, as he wanted earlier, was already claiming her in front of everyone. But neither of them noticed any of the outside reactions. They were in their own little world.

"I… wanted to know." He said, not hiding his slight disappointment in losing.

"I never said you had to win." He blinked and she smiled reassuredly, even when it suddenly looked nervous. "I'll tell you… later."

He felt speechless really, was it only him who thought of this as a battle to be won? And as if reading his thoughts, she let out a smirk.

"Mada Mada Dane." She said…, not realizing he was leaning closer at all.

And he gave her a kiss that would entice a lot of gasps in the following weeks to come.

**.**  
**.**

**END OF CHAPTER XVIII**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER XIX: Overture**

* * *

**REPLIES TO ANGELS**

**Mintleafeon**- Yay~! xD *celebrates* Glad you still think the interactions are cute and thank you for the review~!

**Yuki Masaharu**- *blushes* Blushes like hell. xD I'm very glad you thought it was mindblowing and wonderful…! I'm sorry this chap was kinda late and hope it was worth the wait! Thx for the review btw~!

**O0violetphoenix0o**- Haha. Happy you loved the chap! I suppose she will get kinda feminine, depending on the situation. And actually… she'd just crossdress _outside_. *cough* Who knows what she'll wear in the house? Loool. Thank you for the review, btw! xD

**FranscoiseLaraLapis**- Lol. Yeah I apologize for the bombing. Tried to improve the flow but it didn't do much. xD And hope this chap was worth the wait and thanks for the review!

**Shanagi95**- I'm happy that you loved this chap! Hope this one was good, too, but don't hesitate to say otherwise. ;D Thanks for the review!

**BrokenBlackCat- **Gahehehe. Seichi's reaction, eh? xD Next chapter! Ahahaha. Don't expect anything mindblowing though… you might get disappointed! Haha. And yeah, let's hope Seichi gets ahold of his hormones soon. *cough* Thanks for the review~!

**Deadlycute17**- Indeed! Hahaha. Seichi's adorable trying to take control of himself… how long though? Pfftt—anyway, thanks for the comment! xD

**JuRy28**- You did? I apologize! And I did it again. T_T Hope this chap was worth the wait and thank you for your comment! :DD

**Guest [4/10/13] or snowpoppy**- Yep they're together! xD And I'm really glad you liked this love triangle. xD My other lovetriangles from other stories kinda ended up in failure. xD Thanks for the review!

**Natasya Ivashkov- **You're so sweet! xD Keeping on reviewing even when you don't know what to say anymore. Thank you for that! :D

**DragonFire Princess**- Thank you for the review! I'll take note of what to maintain and I'm not answering that last question. *wink* hahaha (sorry)

**Summer usagi 31 – (ch1) **I'm glad you liked my writing (I hope to keep it up) and thank you for the review~! :DD

**DigimonLoveForever**- Hope this chapter answered your question! Tehee. Glad you think it's a great story and thank you for the review~

**Zwolftd**- Indeed! xD You took the words right out of my keyboard! xDD The tennis tournament will begin a little later. A lot of things'll happen before it though (sorry) and thank you for the review! xxD

**Silver Butterfly- **Hahaha. The OMG Silver butterfly? xDD And it will help, thank you! It was nice to finally address you with a name. And Rinko did hide them. Haha. But they (will) talk her out of it tho. Haha. Thank you for the review, btw!

**Guest [4/14/13] a.k.a Blackwaves- **You two have such cute naming sense—yo! xDD I won't say anything about Atobe *cough*. And lol—it's hard… thinking of a decent 'punishment; for Niou. Haha. Thanks for the review!

**xDarkxKurokox- **Thank you for the review! And so _that's_ what 'omaera' means. I learned something new today! Hahaha. And here's the update. Sorry it's late~! xD

**ShikiKira**- Thank you for the review and glad I made the right decision with Sumire. Ah, but the events of the previous 2 chapters were in the same day. Gomen I didn't clear that up. xD Hope this chapter was good enough as well~!

**Darkspider- **Maybe, maybe not. xD Maybe the foreshadowing thing is just for fun. Ahahhaha. *wink* I missed you too and hope this chapter was worth the wait! Thank you for the comment~!

* * *

**…**

* * *

Thank you for reading! I dunno what happened to the others in the previous chap but special thanks to everyone  
who showed their support so far! ;D The thoughts are what keep me going.

Hope you enjoyed, but whatever you thought I'd be happy to read them all! :D


	19. Overture

**IMPORTANT!** I noticed a lot of you think we'll have a dark depressing turn of events somewhere. It is particularly understandable due to the foreshadowing in Chapter 16. But I planned a lot of events already and so far I see no such turns. xD _Unless_ **you angels** want some more angst, then I'll consider. hahahha

Anyway, the start of a new story arc! THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT SO FAR, MINNA!

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I Own Prince of Tennis

* * *

**…**

* * *

**CHAPTER XIX: Overture**

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

Echizen Rinko hummed as she folded the cloths. She just got back from the airport after seeing the Yukimura couple off. They said that they already messaged Seichi, and albeit he hadn't replied yet (probably due to class), they said it was no problem as they would return in a week or so anyway.

She hummed and continued what she was doing and, eventually, finally finished changing most of Ryoma's clothing! She _couldn't_ live as a boy forever, right? Despite what Seichi said, Ryoma had do return to being a girl… at least in her own home now.

_Riiiinngg_

She flinched and looked around, forgetting where she left her phone. She looked and looked and then, after noticing idiotically placing her ears on the carpet, she finally saw it under the cabinet. She sighed and prepared herself for a few dust bunnies.

"Moshi, Moshi?" She answered.

"When are you gonna come home?" A lazy sounding voice from the other line said and it could be none other than her husband's. She stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.

"This Friday, like usual?"

"Ah. I guess you can go home for good though."

She blinked. "Hn?"

"I'm already working on Reina's paperwork. She'd be moving with you."

"…what?"

"What do you mean what?" He asked and Rinko knew very well where this was going. She didn't see how she could not see this earlier! Retiring from law practice must have had an effect on her reasoning skills.

"I refuse."

"Honey—"

"I'd go home _alone_ if you miss me so much, but Reina will stay with Seichi."

"I refuse!" Nanjiroh yelled in aghast, surprised by her statement. "You're going to leave those two hormonal teenagers alone? NO WAY!"

"Then I will not leave."

"NO. You two girls _will_ leave. They're engaged already! They could be set apart. At least until it's…safe."

"Not everyone has a perverted mind like you, Nanjiroh." Rinko said dismissively. "Those two are mature. They won't do anything such idiotic things."

"How do _you_ know? It could be too late!" He said. "I can sense hormones like they're the smoke from a hormone factory!"

"…"

"It's true!"

Rinko shook her doubts away and stood firm. "I-It's not like they're not going to get married in a few years, anyway…"

Nanjiroh cried. "Riiinnkkkoooooo."

"I stand firm of my opinion."

"Che." Nanjiroh sniffed. "Wanna have a bet then?"

"…" Rinko kept silent for a while, before agreeing to end the nonsensical talk already. "Fine. So long as you promise not to intervene. Of course, that goes the same for me."

"Okay. If there's the slightest hint of them at least bordering the red line—then Reina _will_ move here with me."

"Fine."

"Fine!" Nanjiroh replied before gesturing to close the line.

"Oh, and have a good day Hon~"

* * *

A few hours later, the limousine assigned to the household's youngest members finally arrived. Seichi was the first one to climb out, but the unknowing Ryoma almost got out as well and habitually headed to Yukimura's side. So they met in the middle of the way and this caught Ryoma by surprise.

"Che."

Yukimura slid his hand to the back of the limousine and she stared. "You know you're only my bodyguard by name now, right? It's disturbing to see the female party opening the door for her _fiancé_."

"Not to me." She said, but as they were already out, she decided not to take deeper the argument—especially when Yukimura was probably going to be the one to win. She just walked to the house with him but found her body stopping before she could move her legs further.

It did hurt when she stood, but somehow it got worse all-of-a-sudden. She tried to control the wincing of her eyes but when she lifted her head to Yukimura's direction she realized that he, unfortunately, saw it already.

"Does it still hurt?" He asked worriedly, and a second later—after realizing she was being lifted—she would realize it was rhetorical.

She gasped. "What are you—"

Yukimura ignored her, not in the mood to state the obvious. It was that moment that Ryoma realized she'd just have to succumb to this—it was embarrassing, but she had to admit the jolt of pain was there. It was bearable, given her tolerance to pain, but this felt much… better.

She stared at one of her hands, at the time resting on his shoulder. To think all these years—she had been used to seeing his back, at all times, in the same scene. This was a little overwhelming, even for her.

And then she imagined how they looked like—locking lips in the middle of the courts, in front of everyone.

Instinctively, she flinched, making him pause his steps and stare at her worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Reina…" He voiced out, and when she looked away, he sighed and changed directions—from going to the front door to the side gardens. He put her down on a bench. She looked down and he held her cheek up to gracefully lift it up so that she'd face him.

_Such warm hands_, she mused as she stared into his deep and beautiful orbs. And like he always did, he made her legs go soft and was thankful she was not standing in the first place. "I just remembered… we showed so much earlier that day, didn't we?"

"Does it matter?" He smiled. "At least everyone in the school knows we're in that kind of relationship." She twitched at that at the recollection. In the duration of the whole day, there had been ever _more_ prying stares than usual and not to mention various emotions ran through the air.

For some odd reason, females and female-wanabees, were squeaking whenever they got close, shouting "Kya~ Favourite couple ever!" Some saying best yaoi pair or something similarly odd. At least they weren't hostile…

Even during Lunch, the team didn't lack in attempts to interrogate them. They still acted like usual, unsurprisingly, not caring one bit if they were homosexuals or not. Frankly, she would have felt disappointed if they did and she was especially thankful that they didn't.

Sanada and Niou remained the usual as well. She never glared at him (she willed herself not to react in any way) and he was apathetically the usual trickster, videotaping things here and there. Yagyuu reacted whenever Niou handled it incorrectly though, which led her to the though the camera was not even Niou's.

And just after Lunch break, Sanada whispered a silent 'Congratulations' and she smiled back.

She was pulled out of her trance by a soft and sensual feeling on her lips. She blinked.

"Welcome back." He said, his face only an in away from hers. "You were in quite a reverie over there."

"Ah. I remembered the whole day after everyone found out."

"Ah, lovely reactions they gave." He chuckled before slowly shifting to the side of her face. "Speaking of which, Sanada and Niou… did I imagine it or was there more than shock in their faces?"

She didn't know if he was teasing or was he annoyed. Perhaps it was both?

_Wait a minute…_

_He shouldn't have seen their reactions in the first place!_

But it was too late, it looked like she already showed some facial expression.

"…so?"

"You imagined it."

"Reina."

She smiled at him reassuredly and held his hand. "Shall we chat in the garden?"

"My garden?"

"Hai."

"Then that's not really reassuring." He said, almost pouting. "Considering you're trying to buffer whatever you're going to say using a context that I'm fond of."

Ryoma shook her head. "No. (not entirely) I just miss the place."And she paused, looking at him serenely.

"It had been years since I last went there, remember?"

**…**

As they stood at the door and went in, Seichi found himself looking around his own garden. He stole occasional glances of Ryoma as well. _Years_, was it, since she last entered? He knew it had been a long time, for whenever he wanted her to see something he couldn't quite voice it out. And whenever he had to be called out, some other servant usually did the task, but never Ryoma. As if she asked these servants to do what he asked for, instead.

For a moment there, he wondered why. But it never quite took him long to figure it out.

He realized she didn't want to spoil something he loved with her presence.

He flinched and she whipped her head to his direction in worry. He shook his head. "I'm glad you're here again." He said, ensuring she didn't misunderstand. "My garden missed you." He said quietly and she smiled, letting go of his hand.

"May I?"

"Hmn." He said and she started wondering around his small garden house. His eyes wandered wherever she went as well.

It was a small green house, but large for a personal one. The accessories like the benches were arranged symmetrically every 3 meters or so. It was exactly the same as the one he had in England. In fact, he specifically instructed the movers to move the very same type of plants and at precisely the same position. He didn't know why… until now.

A collection of Amaryllis, Aster, Borage, Heliotrope, Dahlia, and a few chosen colors of carnation were arranged in a dynamic way that now made so much _sense_. There was a foliage of asparagus as well. And… there was a bonsai of an Acacia right in the middle—like the altar to a church.

"Reina…" He smiled, looking at her, and he let various emotions seep through. Perhaps they were so much that he made Ryoma blush just by doing it. "I… consciously tried to push you away… so hard. I'm sorry."

"I understand."

"Of course you do. You always do. And even when you didn't." He said, looking at the bonsai. "You still remain on my side."

"And even when I am irrational… my feelings still manifested themselves, and in the place I loved so much as well." He let out a low, amused, chuckle from his gut. "It seems that even unconsciously, all I thought about was you."

She only stared, trying to comprehend his confession. She had no idea what he was saying though. Who would, anyway? So, he only smiled making her tilt her head in puzzlement.

"This Acacia meant secret love." He explained and looked at the plant softly. He chuckled at her growing blush and guided her around his collection of meaningful plants.

"Amaryllis is of Pride, Borage is of courage, Heliotrope of Devotion, and Dahlia of Elegance and dignity—" he paused and her eyes widened. "…All of which characteristics I saw in you, but refused to look at positively."

He let her breathe a bit and he looked away both to give her space and to help himself calm a bit. She was making such pretty faces he wondered what he would do if his heart was pushed a little more. He realized that he had always been attracted. There was something innately feminine about her, masked by her crossdressing and the actions that she showed. Now that he was aware of them, for some reason he doubted his ability to control them if they increase.

He let a minute or so pass and his eyes wandered around his beautiful garden again. It was really to distract himself. He smiled at a plant.

"Aster, is simply a symbol of love." He paused, without looking at her. "Carnation, in contrast,… could mean different things, depending on the color." He smiled recalling the different times he purchased the flowers, knowing full-well what they meant, albeit never thinking he actually applied them. He bought Aster when he was so confused that he needed something _simple_, and it seemed to have helped his sanity.

His hands ended up caressing the petals of the carnations. So beautiful yet so complex. Like Reina and these feelings. Yukimura proceeded to tell her what they meant. "White is sweet and … lovely." He found himself chuckling at how oddly and secretively true that was, but paused at the other colors.

"Mauve and red…" He blushed.

"Seichi?"

"Oh…"

He walked to the bonsai (hoping she'd dismiss his little moment) and soon Ryoma reached his location. "Perhaps I should replace it with a large set of ambrosia." He said and Ryoma stared.

"Why?"

"Because it's no longer applicable." He said, a little relieved for about a moment. After some thinking, his mood turned sour. (At that instant, he mentally concluded that he was thoroughly bi-polar, at least with Ryoma).

"Perhaps I should give this bonsai to someone who needs it."

"What… does it mean?"

"_Ambrosia_ means reciprocated love." He paused. "Acacia means, on the other hand, means Secret Love." He said and suddenly looked at her seriously. "Perhaps I should give this to Sanada or some other…man. Depends.

"Mind enlightening me?"

She paled, and he realized the aura around him darkened once more. He frowned at himself, he disliked seeing her so scared, and more often than not, _he _was the one who caused it. He pushed her away, and yet he wanted her all for himself.

He wanted to curse, but instead, he found his head leaning down and resting on her shoulder. He forced himself to calm down, and soon, he let his arms surround her petite frame, embracing it lovingly.

"I'm sorry. I promise I'd be fine with whatever I hear." He whispered. "Don't be scared."

There was silence for a while until he felt her quiver, and soon a chuckle came out. He lifted his head and saw a very beautiful facial expression. He felt so… blessed to see it so often, despite doing so many wrong things. In the end, he could only ogle.

"I… it's not like that Seichi. I don't think I'd ever be attracted this way to any other man. And nor do I think they're attracted to me that way." She smiled.

"Why were you pale then?"

"Well…" she looked away and scratched her cheek. "There had been some… accidents."

"Tell me everything." He said and she gulped.

"Well, Sanada found out I'm a girl during one of our tennis practices at night, as you should know."

"Hmn." He said, specially till annoyed at that fact. "Continue." He said, keeping it as cool as possible.

"He found my wig."

"That's not enough reason. You could have denied it."

"I did. But there was this, like I said, accident." She said unconsciously looking down on his chest level, and somehow Seichi understood. He saw red. A very bloody shade of red.

"Seichi." "She said firmly. "It was an accident, remember?"

"…Right. I'm sorry. But." _How the bloody hell was he supposed to calm?_ "So he blackmailed you to go on a date?"

"N-No."

"Then you came with him on your own consent?"

"Well… the person I went to Space Land with wasn't exactly Sanada…"

"…"

"…"

"Continue."

"Niou." She practically said inaudibly. "He found out when he overheard Sanada and I speak about it… it wasn—Seichi."

"Right." He narrowed his eyes. "And you got into an accident with him, too?"

She nodded and suddenly looked down, unable to look at him anymore. "Reina." He repeated. "How long is this going t—" He was cut off by Ryoma pulling him down for a light kiss.

"I'm sorry." When they parted and saw her apologetic expression, his eyes widened at a realization. He saw **red.**

"H-He _kissed_ yo—"

_Kiss_

"Rein—"

_Kiss_

"That bas—"

_Kiss_

And finally, he managed to get enough strength to gently push her away. "Don't think this will calm me down. And… didn't that mean…, your first kiss?!"

And she kissed him again. "Reina."

"I'll stop if you stop bloody reminding me." She said, and frankly Seichi was already in it for another kiss.

"…"

Nothing of the sort came though, and she just tightened her hold on his shirt. "Every time I remember… only a kiss from _you_ could make it all go away."

_Oh_.

_But still. Just imagining it for a millisecond made his blood boil. _And Niou?_ He couldn't have guessed! _

"Forgive me?"

And in the end, he let his forehead rest against hers.

_How could he not?_

* * *

Rinko watched the two kids enter the house. It was already dark then, and she mused they must have stayed outside for a while. She asked them to get ready already for dinner and they obliged. But then as the kids climbed up the stairs… she remembered something.

She climbed up and followed her daughter to her room.

"Mom? Where're my boy's clothes?" _Right on cue._

Rinko totally forgot about her replacing her clothes! But then she mused, it was too late to change plans then. She already sold most of her boy's clothes and kept just the right number since she still had to go out the house as a boy (yes she had an idea Seichi would object).

But that would mean Seichi would have a harder time controlling himself.

But then… she promised not to intervene? Should any promises to Nanjiroh be null and void? It certainly would make sense at the moment.

"I thought that you've been living as a boy of years now. Surely you don't want to start acting like one in the end? You're an engaged girl for goodness sakes!"

"Is there anything wrong?"

"Besides, I don't think Seichi'll do things he's not supposed to do just because you wore girl's clothes."She turned her head to his direction and yelled, "Isn't that right, Seichi?"

"…hmn?"

"I'm making Ryoma wear girl's clothes inside the house. Isn't that fabulous?"

He didn't answer, but not because (unfortunately) he was too cool to react. His throat was just literally jammed then. That moment, Rinko was having doubts on how much he could control himself. After all, her daughter was freakishly beautiful for her own good!

Seichi, sensing her discerning stare, composed himself quickly and let out a calm and amicable smile.

"Of course."

**…**

_Sigh_

It was after dinner then, and Seichi sat on his bed, his back on the headboard, and he was writing things down in the diary. He was writing so much, and his hand seemed to be especially vehement that day as well—and not of anger, rather of enthusiasm.

It was rare…

But his writing slowed down the moment he got to that night's dinner. It was the second time he saw her in a dress, and it was a little longer than the school uniform. Its effect on him, was not any less.

He knew about these feelings of course—He loved her in the platonic way, but naturally something else would rouse. And considering the meanings of those carnations that he knew very well since back then…? He realized it had been there for a while.

Her charm back then was masked by her boyishness, too. But… what _now_?

He seriously started doubting his self control.

His mind wandered and relived all those moments where they were close, where they touched, and blush crept up his face. This was becoming more embarrassing, but he willed himself to keep writing. Letting it out, at least in his diary, surely would help this feelings get under control—like it always did.

But as he was in the middle of a very intimate point of writing, the door opened abruptly, and he instinctively hid the diary under his pillow.

"You should have knocked."

"I did. 4 times." His fiancé narrowed her eyes. "What was that?"

"What?"

She still had her eyes narrowed and she looked at him before finally closing the door. "That little book under your pillow."

"Homework." He said, keeping an imminent gulp at bay. He watched her walk closer to him in her simple and humble—yet all the same _enticing_—beige pajamas.

"Is there anything you want?"

"I _was_ just going to say good night. But then I saw _it_." She said pointing at his pillow. "I thought we agreed to tell each other everything?"

"I told you it was my homework." He said and she sighed before doing what he did to her before—lifting his chin up. She leaned down and let one of her ankles support her weight as it bended on his bed.

"You're lying."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we did it for years."

She frowned and leaned in closer (Seichi, albeit he didn't show it, was willing his insides to calm vehemently). Her arms raised and was then on the headboard, supporting her weight as well. Her other arm on her hip, and she was basically caging Seichi in as well.

An eye for an eye.

And they both knew it worked every time.

**...**

Long seconds passed by and neither spoke. Seichi remained frozen, to the point that he didn't realize Ryoma's hand was already creeping down the pillow. The moment he realized that she was already opening his diary she must have already read several sentences.

He whipped his head and saw she was reading his latest page!

He quickly moved but Ryoma was agile, she managed to avoid the book getting stolen and she gestured to get down the bed, when Seichi managed grab her shoulder and—

_THUMP_

He was pinning _her_ down.

They gasped and stared at each other, and Seichi couldn't help but lean down and whisper to her ears. _"I told you it's just homework._"

And when he separated he didn't realize she was reading behind his back (literally) and her eyes went wide at something. He felt her drop his diary and moved to gape at him.

She blushed. "I-I—"

"This is all _your_ fault, you know." He whispered before placing a chaste kiss on her lips. He parted and saw that beautiful shade of red on her face. It was embarrassing to have her read that, but it was the truth anyway. Besides, it was not like he could control himself at the moment.

"I love you." He said. "And unfortunately, I seem to be _wanting_ you too."

She didn't answer, but that soft expression was there—pushing him to oblivion. He kissed her again, this time a little deeper.

And deeper…

_And deeper_…

The next thing he knew, he was placing butterfly kisses on her neck, and she let out a musical moan that he mused he could listen to forever.

But—

_**BAM!**_

The door opened, and they both flinched—quickly stopping whatever they were doing. They stared and their eyes widened…

Rinko looked very shocked indeed.

**.  
.**

**END OF CHAPTER XIX**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER XX: Decision**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS**

**ChocoMickey- **Waaa. So sorry to have made you wait so long and I'm glad it was good enough. xD Nyahah. I'm happy you liked those parts as well! *hugs* Thanks for the review. xD

**DragonFire Princess- **They will for the most part! As you will see in the chapter there will be a short amount of time wherein they won't. xD Hope it's alright and thx for the comment!

**Mintleafeon- **haha. Yeah! I can only imagine the shock and terror in their faces. And yeah, I hope I can figure out a happy enough ending for him. In the meantime, hug him? xD Thx for the comment!

**xDarkxKurokox**- Hahaha. Halt! xD Sanada is ours, remember? Loooool. And I did? I tend to do mix their names a lot. xD I'm off to change it! And yeah! I've always known you're from PH tho. *cackles* I'm a born stalker, Kabayan! *high five* And thanks for the review!

**Quwer- **Hahahah. *fangirls with you* Thank you for the review and I can only hope the aftermath managed to satisfy your expectations. xD You can tell me otherwise of course, and thanks for the comment!

**BrokenBlackCat- **Hahaha. Yes, cliffhanger! xD And hai~ He did! Not 100% sure what to do with the shots yet, but he got them alrighT! xD Thanks for the comment~

**Deadlycute17**- Thank you for the review and I'm glad you liked it! I'm thinking atm about the pairing, I have one in mind but *hush* xD.

**JuRy28- **Ahahaha. And… I made you wait again. T_T Gomen nasai. And hai~ as I will show in this chapter, your guess is correct. Hehehe. Thanks for the comment btw!

**Ethelra**- Yay! I'm glad you thought so (since a lot seems to lose interest since chapter 17 lol) and it's a great thing to read. Thanks for the review!

**Natasya Ivashkov**- Thank you for the review! And hehe. It's awesome to hear that you think the chapter's sweet, awesome, and powerful all at the same time! xDD *hugs*

**SeraphelArchangelaClaudia- **Hahahah. Yes, yes they did kiss! xD *fangirls with you* haha. Thank you for the comment!

**Yuki Masaharu- **Darn it! I'm blushing so much here—yo! Hahah. I'm very happy that you thought so! And yeah, I wish my muses will not leave me, they sleep often though. xD And I'll try to update like before and thanks for the review~!

**YukimuraRika- **Thank you for the review! xD I'm so glad you thought it was a cute chapter. Hehe. Hope to keep it up and I will do my best to keep updating!

**Shanagi95**- D'aw. Don't be conflicted! Us fangirls can always go and hug him, ne? xD and hahahah. Was niou that annoying? xD If so, feel free to punch him lol. Thx for the comment!

**Guest [4/29/12] –** Hahah. Glad you liked their game and kiss! xD I'm sure they'll be flattered as well lol. And Hai~ Poor sanada. Hope I can make it better for him somehow. xD Thanks for the review! :)

**FranscoiseLaraLapis-** Oh that guest above was you? Hahahaha. No biggie. xD I like it actually, it increased the review count. Hahahha. Thanks again for the reviews!

**Nemesia23**- Thank you for the review. I am so happy to know that you found it captivating all the way now and I hope I can keep it up. Of course, feel free to tell me if I've lost my way. xD Thanks for the review!

**Xiiaogurlz **– I am so glad to hear from you, then! xD Thank you for reviewing! And yes~! The next few chaps will be focusing Sensual pair. *wink* thanks for the review!

**Darkspider- **Sanada's fine~ Somehow. xDD But we'll hug him anyway! Hahah. And not yet. They wouldn't find out about her gender for now. Hehehehe. Thank you for the review~

**JigokuTenshi834- **Hahaha. We sure hope not! Then again, we can play nurses if they all had heart attacks. xDDD Thanks for the review!

**AnImEfEN-** Thank you for the review~! xD So glad you liked it! Hehe. And btw, I am planning on doing short stories on the earlier generation(s) but they'll be part of this story. Hope they'll turn out nicely! xD

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**...**

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Thank you for reading!

It would be awesome if you pause before going anywhere else  
and let me have the pleasure of knowing your thoughts. :)


	20. Decision

Thank you for bearing with me so far! LOL. Special hugs to those who let me know of their presence by reviewing, following, fav'ing, and C2ing the story.

And I apologize for taking so long these past few chapters. (ToT) I admit I could've updated a _little_ faster. It's just that I was hoping that the half of the number of active readers that disappeared on me the past chaps were just busy with school and thus I dragged a few updates. But seeing as most of them probably wouldn't return anymore, it may be depressing, but I have you angels with me to get me updating anyway.

Btw, I do understand if people quit the story… it's just that… _please_ don't leave me hanging and tell me why before going away. ^^

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the start of the new story arc. ;) And please don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts.

**DISCLAIMER: **I WISH I own Prince of Tennis

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**CHAPTER XX: Decision**

_Tap_

_Tap_

_TAP_

Then the woman who was walking back and forth in annoyance finally stopped and whipped her head to the direction of her companions, who were sitting still in seiza.

"Mou—I'm _so_ disappointed in you two!" With matching reddening face which was actually a mix of annoyance and a blush.

"I can't believe this!" She finally yelled, and then nagged and nagged while the other two kids remained silent and tried to contain the utter embarrassment they were feeling. Of course, they felt awkward after everything, but they willed themselves to calm.

Until, finally, Rinko got tired, fell on a poor random chair on her path, and slumped back. She closed her eyes and palmed her face. "I can't believe Nanjiroh was right about this."

Well, that caught the two's attention. Rinko realized what she blurted out and looked at the two kids.

_**Nanjiroh**__ was right?_

They all cringed at the thought.

"What do you mean, Rinko-baasan." Seichi asked not liking that thought at all and Ryoma couldn't speak due to the utter blasphemy of the statement. Rinko didn't either, but she sighed heavily and decided to suck it up.

"Well..., kids." She paused. "He kind of foreseen this happen."

_Silence_

And they cringed again. Even Rinko was and she shook her head in distaste. "To think he'd be smarter than us at this." She looked away and whispered: "I still can't believe I lost that bet to him."

"Bet?"

"Yes, what bet?" Ryoma said as she patted the newly arrived Karupin. The feline woke up from all the shouting and entered the open door.

Rinko stared for a few long seconds. "Well…," She paused. "Hmn. As a disclaimer I did what I could to make what _you_ two would want to happen. You just went and did something rendering me unable to do anything else about it."

"What do you mean, kaa-san?"

"Well…" Rinko sweat-dropped and looked away again. "Nanjiroh…. kinda agreed on putting off the plans of your transfer given you wouldn't do anything like this…" She said just before stepping back in foresight.

"_WHAT?_" Seichi exclaimed as he stood up by reflex. Ryoma slumped back in shock of the news. And Rinko stepped back again for safety.

"That's not fair, baasan!" Seichi said and stepped closer, willing himself to be as composed as possible. "Rinko-baasan. Surely, there are better ways—"

He was cut off by Rinko raising her hand to make him freeze in place. She shook her head and walked passed him to stand by her already frozen daughter. The kids stared at Rinko as she leaned down and extended her hand to cup her daughter's cheek. Her hand soon ended up on her collar and quickly bent it—effectively revealing the marks Seichi left there.

"Ah, the mark of possession." The two kids blushed and Ryoma quickly turned away. Rinko let out a deep breath. "Surely there shouldn't be any harm in you two being apart for most part of a few years? It's not like you're never going to see each other at that time."

"_Only_ a few years?" Seichi repeated in distaste, his voice cracking. "There can be compromises made in this yes?"

"The answer is no. Besides Nanjiroh already planned it the moment we announced the engagement."

"I-I refuse." Ryoma was finally able to speak and Rinko turned to her and gave her a light smile.

"Not really our choice, dear. Besides, you have to understand your father as well."

"But—"

"No."

"Rinko-baasan."

"No."

_Riiiiiiiiiing_

The three stared at each other, and then at whatever intervened with their sort-of civil conversation. The two kids gulped as Rinko help up her phone and pressed loudspeaker. "Moshi Moshi?" she said and a very familiar voice immediately boomed across the room. It was much more intimidating than they remembered.

"Yo, Hon."

"Nanjiroh." Rinko said, gesturing the two kids to sit on the carpet along with her. It should help restrict some movement and keep things down. "What is it?"

"When are you two going to move here, hmn?"

Rinko did not answer, and he continued, misunderstanding the silence. "I'm telling you, Rinko, those two _will_ do something disconcerting soon!"

RInko stared at the two kids who gulped and stared at her in a way that made her feel her bones were being melted. Regardless, in the end, she let out a sigh. "What if I told you… they already have." She said and the two kids turned several shades of red.

And as expected, a resonating "_**WHAT?!**__"_ was heard from the phone afterwards. The yell was so loud Ryoma's ears rang. The man's increasingly squeaky voice was not helping. "**They, **_**What**__?"_

"Do I have to repeat it?"

"M—NO!" He yelled before a loud exasperated sigh was heard. "Okay. I'm taking my baby home _now_."

It was then that Ryoma stood up as well and grabbed the phone. "T-Tousan. W-we weren't going far! It was just a kiss." She heard a scoff.

"_Just_ a kiss? Next time I'll hear you 'it's just sex' like other children nowadays!" He said, and Ryoma could faintly hear the engine of a car staring on the background.

"WHAT?" Ryoma yelled and Seichi looked like he was going to faint. "I will _not_."

But the phone was already dead. They looked at each other. Ryoma looked at her mother. "He's coming." She said and she stared at Seichi who only palmed his head, looking quite pale.

"It was not easy to be nagged about this by him." Was the only thing he could say at the moment. He wanted to say a lot of things, but it was hard to articulate at the moment.

Rinko patted his back. "Believe it or not, Nanjiroh and I were virgins until our honeymoon."

"…that's hard to believe."

"Well in any case, I had a feeling you two were going to stop before going too… deep, yes?" Rinko said. "I guess I'll try to compromise. You two better behave and show him you deserve to live together before marriage.

"Is that understood?"

And they nodded.

**…**

A few hours later, on a street in Kanagawa, a certain stoic fukubuchou was walking to his home. He just hit countless walls with countless tennis balls—hoping that perhaps his inner turmoil would resonate away from him along with their impact.

But there was no use.

His insides were being unbearably heavy.

But as he walked blankly, his ears registered supposedly banal sounds. It was only when a car was nearing him did he take it into consideration. He looked beside him. He was on the safe side of the road so there wasn't any worry.

Then he heard a 'meow'.

He whipped his head and there it was—a feline with ebony black hair strolling in the middle of the road. Or more specifically, in the middle of the he road that an illegally speeding car was using.

Sanada quickly shook off his reverie and jumped in to grab the cat. He used all of his instincts, no longer thinking, and ran as far away from the danger as possible with the black cat. His ears ringing with the terrible sound of the car's tires screeching to a stop. His brain even registered onomatopoeias.

_Screeeeeeeccchh_

His brain said, and soon it stopped. And soon, he started regaining his tactile sense…, including the feeling of the cat's thick fur.

"_Meow."_

Sanada opened his eyes. He looked around and saw he and the cat was unharmed. He sighed in relief and looked at the cat, "If I got into an accident too, I may understand how other cultures see you as bad luck."

"Oi gaki! Are you alright?!" He turned to see where it came from, looking as if he didn't just come out of a near-death experience. The driver of the car was standing by his door, soon closing it so that he could check up on him. It was an odd man with familiar orbs—actually he looked pretty familiar himself—and he was looking at him with anxiety and impatience.

"I am, sir." He said reassuredly, obviously the man was in a rush. "Both of us are unharmed."

"Y'sure?"

"Yes."

"Good!" The man lightened up and ran to his car. He rolled down his window and smiled at him. " Ja." And then held onto his wheel. "Be sure not to jump in the middle of the road next time."

"H-Hai."

And he went away.

**…**

"Tadaima." Sanada said as he entered his home, and blankly left his shoe where they always rest, and put his bag by it. "Welcome back" a meek voice from a room said and he knew it was his grandmother. He turned back to close the door when something blocked its stile. He blinked.

"_Meow._"

He blinked again. It was that black cat and it seemed to have followed him home.

For a long moment there, he mused of what to do. It was taking him long—that cat staring at him reminded him slightly of Ryoma. Actually, many things reminded him of the girl… and a cat was no different, it seemed.

He almost shooed it away when his grandmother walked to the corridor. "Is that a cat?" The woman said stating the obvious, gentle features emanated from her face. She was wearing her favourite Yukata, Sanada noted.

His grandmother walked to him and lifted the cat to her level. "Oh my, how adorable."

"It followed me home."

"_She_," His grandmother repeated. "will stay."

"…" He didn't have any problems really, but wasn't this a bit too impulsive? "Are you sure obaa-sama?"

"Of course~" She smiled. "And look, she's pregnant. She'll need a home."

He blinked. "Pregnant?" He looked and realized it was true. Heck—he didn't know how he could miss it.

"Are you sure no one owns her?"

"Hai~ No collar!"

"Grandmother…"

"It's fine it's fine~ If someone looks for her, we'll return her. Simple."

"It might scratch you…"

"I've handled countless cats as a child son, don't worry."

"A-Ah…" He looked around, knowing he had no say in this. "Is grandfather home?"

"He's resting behind." She said and looked at the cat calling her 'Yuki' or snow. She smirked. "Now go greet him as I take Snow-chan here to a **bath**."

And Sanada wondered if it was horror he saw in that cat's face.

**…**

YUKIMURA RESIDENCE

_A few hours prior, Rinko left the two kids alone… knowing they wouldn't dare do anything else. "I'll be going downstairs now." Rinko announced, and closed the door. _

_Ryoma's eyes, before going to her fiance's direction, caught Karupin just sitting there staring at her and meowed. She smiled and was about to pat his head when she heard a thump on her right._

_She looked at Seichi. He just hit the table with his palm before dropping down on his chair. "This is all my fault." _

_She let out a soft frown before walking to him and holding his slumped shoulder. "Seichi…"_

_He turned to look at her and she flinched. "How could you be so calm?" He asked and she stared._

"_Well, for one you're doing all the fretting for me."_

"_That's not enough."He said and fully faced her as he still sat on his chair. "Are you _fine_ with this arrangement?"_

_She blinked. She was, wasn't she? "Hai." She answered honestly. "It's not like we're forbidden to see each other in that time period. Besides, we're in no rush. We'll get married eventually, won't we?"_

"_That wasn't the point though." He said and his hand ended up behind her back and he brought her closer. Ryoma looked at him as he was tilting his head up to look at her. She found herself gulping some air as she stared at him. She realized that his eyes… they were full of worry, anxiety, and sadness. _

"_You don't understand, Ryoma." He said, before tilting his head back down and resting his head on her collar area. "All these years… I refused to look at you. I pushed you away. I refused to acknowledge my feelings for you." Her eyes widened and he continued, his embrace was only tightening._

"_And now I could finally be with you without putting up anything—you get taken away from me."_

_Ryoma's eyes softened and she patted his head. He embraced her harder. "I don't want that." He said._

"_And I'll do what I can to make this right." _

Nanjiroh sat seriously in front of the two kids. They were in the process of convincing him to give them another chance. Karupin was on the mezzanine, watching everyone lazily as he ate his snack.

Ryoma stole a glance of her fiancé. In reality, she was truly fine with the arrangement. She knew there wouldn't be much harm. They weren't in a rush, and she believed they had forever to make up for the time they lost. But… that determination in his eyes made her admire him even more.

Her eyes softened and her heart fluttered as she recalled what he said right after the announcement of Nanjiroh's arrival. She took a peek of Seichi once more. She didn't realize how unfair it was for him, and as he blamed himself... taking responsibility was on his back as well.

She looked back at the authority figure of the moment. Her father was still wearing his usual stupid attire but he assumed that air of power he rarely showed. That moment, she knew it would be hard to persuade him.

And just like that—Seichi stood up abruptly and it caught them all by surprise. She could only watch idly as he walked to her father and lowered his head.

"Please don't take her away from me."

But Nanjiroh did not budge. "You sound like I'm cancelling the engagement. I'm not."

Seichi lifted his head slightly, albeit that gesture of respect was still evident. For a moment, Ryoma wanted to stand up and support him but she went against it. This was something Seichi thought he should do himself… and a part of her agreed.

"I know that, Nanjiroh-san. But as I am now, I _need_ you daughter by my side. I promise not to succumb to my hormones any more."

"Do you think that would convince me?"

"Yes. I cannot think of any reason why it wouldn't."

"Haughty brat."

"Yes. But my haughtiness would be proof of never breaking that promise. I shall take pride on the fact that—no matter how attractive Reina is, and will be—I will not succumb to the temptation of doing anything improper with her."

"Hmn…" Nanjiroh uttered before looking at Ryoma's direction. "What about you, Reina?"

"I believe in Seichi, father. Our relationship is much more than that." She said. "It is also unfair for everyone in the team."

"I was from Seigaku y'know. They could use someone like you to finally win." He replied. "I hear they always get the place after Rikkaidai."

"…"

"It'll be fun. Engaged couple having a tennis match in the national finals."

"A tennis match on the same team sounds better." Seichi nodded.

"I can play tennis with her everyday if you don't make her transfer."

"Father, you should know how prideful the Yukimura's are. Please reconsider." Ryoma said and stood beside Seichi and lowered her head as well. Nanjiroh's eyes widened and Rinko smiled.

Seichi looked at her in bewilderment before finding a smile on his face. He held her hand before he looked at Nanjiroh with added determination in his eyes. "I am in love with your daughter—much deeper than any words could show. I don't think I'll be able to handle separation of that duration."

He looked at Ryoma who had then lifted her head and looked at him. He smiled at her before looking at Nanjiroh once more, this time showing veneration in his eyes. "Please have mercy."

It was then that Rinko walked behind her husband and massaged his head. She leaned down. "Yes, have mercy on the kids, Nanjiroh."

"O-One month." Rinko's hand then moved to the back of his head before stopping.

"Yes?"

Nanjiroh gulped and whipped his head back to look at the two kids. "You'll be an exchange student. Just so you still get punished. Is that understood?"

"Yes!"

"You'd be leaving in 3 days, Reina. Be sure to tell your friends from school you'd be gone for a month." He said.

"Yes…"

And there was silence. An awkward one, before Nanjiroh blushed and looked at the two kids.

"Now, go somewhere else kids."

"…ah."

Ryoma and Seichi didn't know why they had goosebumps.

**…**

Ryoma and Seichi was walking to the greenhouse, with their hands entwined. They were silent until they were nearly there.

"Thank you. Our one or two years got decreased to a month." Ryoma finally said without looking at him. She smiled and then turned to see he was still tense.

"I would love to tease you." She stated, making him finally look at her. Ryoma smirked, but that loving blush on her face was obvious. "But if I did… your face was explode."

Seichi's eyes widened and he blushed several shades of red. He looked away before chuckling the tension out. "Darn you."

And he playfully dragged her to the garden.

…

"Seichi…" Ryoma said as he handed her one of the carnation's flowers. A red one. "What does this mean?"

They were inside the greenhouse that night. The lighting was planned out well, and the garden looked just as wonderful at night… albeit in a different way.

"It means deep romantic love. Passion. That my heart aches for you." He smiled. "Sappy, isn't it? That's why I prefer to just give flowers to you." She flushed and he watched her reddening face in amusement. "You shouldn't have asked."

She agreed.

Seichi looked at another plant and picked out a flower, it was new... Ryoma wondered why. "I wish I could send _this_ to the sky."

"What's it called?" She asked and held one of its soft petals.

"Canterbury bells. It was delivered this morning when we were at school."

"You know what it means?"

"…no."

"Gratitude."

"Oh?"

"Uh-huh." He said and looked at her before finally leaning down. Ryoma's eyes widened and she instinctively put her hand on her shoulder, and his hand was again behind her back pulling her closer.

"S-Seichi…"

"I'm thankful you're here with me." _Kiss_

"I'm thankful you're staying with me." _Kiss_

"And I'm thankful it's you."

Ryoma was then very red and she was just staring at him. Seichi smiled. "Oh." He added before kissing her _again_. "I've decided to." _Kiss_

"Give you." _Kiss _

"Something to._" Kiss _

"Remember for a month."

And then his hand slithered to her back and brought her closer to him. Her hand massaged his head to let them do _something_. She thought she'd explode if she remained still.

The kiss, in turn, went deeper, and finally—they had to separate for breath. They looked into each other's eyes.

But then, Ryoma smirked and pulled him in for a short, yet still intimate, kiss.

His eyes widened at the bold move, and she smirked. "You forget the 3 days."

And they could only chuckle.

.  
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**End of Chapter XX**

_**Coming Soon:  
**_**CHAPTER XXI: Packing**

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**REPLIES TO ANGELS**

**ChocoMickey- **Hahahah. Now we know what to do once we start dating? :3 hahahahah. And sorry for the late update! Thanks for the comment~ xD

**Shanagi95- **I agree. xD So Un-Ryoma-like right? xD I'll dwell more on that, I guess, we still have a long way to go anyway. You can say atm she's still a little apathetic of being the boss. Thanks for the review! ;)

**Natasya Ivashkov**- lol. Betting is the root of many conflicts! Hahah. And hihihi~ Hot chapter. XD I dunno when I can write something like that again though. I needed to maintain the T rating lol. Thanks for the comment~!

**Snowpuppy- **That question shall be answered in this chapter. Ahahahaha~ And I'm glad you like it so far~! I'll try to keep it up, and thank you for the review. xD

**BrokenBlackCat**- hahaha. Indeed! But hormones can be troublesome for people, but fun to watch for others. LOL. Hahaha. And I would draw that scene if my parents wouldn't kill me. xD Thanks for the comment btw~

**Yuki Masaharu- ***Stares terrifying at you* C'mon we need some conflict! Hahahahah. Besides, they'll be fine~xD thanks for the review btw! Haha

**JuRy28- **Indeed, it have been a while…! xD I'm here now. ;) And thank you for the review and I'm glad you liked the update~!

**MintLeafeon-**Another one I have to fear! Hahahaha. But c'mon. Conflict is conflict. Besides, they'll be fine~! xDD Thanks for the comment. xD

**FranscoiseLaraLapis-**Maybe, maybe not lol. And yeah! I apologize that I keep making them encounter problems. xD Ohhh~ the problems non-Pillar pair type of couples have lol.

**Ichigosberrymix- **Yo! First off did you change your penname? I was rechecking/rereading reviews and I found a certain angel missing. xD And unfortunately, I can't write anything beyond T-rated LOL. I'll leave the rest to your imagination. xD Oh, and Ryoga will appear… soon. :3 haha. Thanks for the review~!

**o0Violetphoenix0o**- Hahaha. The held-back hormones—they're insane…! Rinko bet since she didn't think she'd lose. xD Poor optimistic woman. Lol. And glad you find my writing fabulous and I will try to keep it up. Thanks for the review~

**JigokuTenshi834- **Oh no, that's illegal. And there're too many fangirls who will go insane. Hahaha~ But then again…. (I'm kidding. xD) Thanks for the comment~

**Deadlycute17- **Oh lololol. Yes, yes they are in big trouble. Fufufu~ I'm very happy you though it was amazing and thank you for the review~! ;)

**Guest [5/27/13] **– Yes, and I always am writing~! xD Thank you for the comment. ;)

**Clavemien Nigram Rosa- **Yay~ Sensual pair banzaiii. xD And whoa! A trip without internet?! How was it?! xD Oh, and thank you for the review. Hahaha

**DigimonLoveForever-**Yeah~ I'll try to fabricate a good ending for Sanada. xD And no, not yet~ Or maybe… Who _knooows_?! Hahahah. And thanks for the review. ;)

**xDarkxKurokox- **Moe flowers banzaiii~ hahaha. And okay Kabayan! Sayu na si Sanada! LOL. And hopefully whatever good you smell will materialize…somehow. *cackles* Thanks for the review~

**justgowithit5631- **Thank you for the review~ And yay! Glad you feel that way. xD And about Sanada, I'm planning something for him atm. xD And I would love to see you in my other stories, too! *giggly*

**silverscribbles- (ch9) **I hope you reached this chapter. Hahaha. And thanks for the review! So glad you found them funny. Hihihih~

**Kagehana. Tsukio- **Ahaha. Gomen gomen. I updated now, see!? xD Hope the wait was worth it and thanks for the comment~ lol

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Thank you for reading~!

Hope you liked it! But whatever you thought, do let me know them. :)


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